ASIAN CITIES IN THE 21ST CENTURY - Asian Development Bank · second, the proceedings of which were published as Volume IV in the Asian Cities in the 21st Century series, was held

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ASIAN CITIESIN THE21ST CENTURYContemporaryApproaches toMunicipal Management

Volume VFighting Urban Poverty

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ASIAN CITIESIN THE21ST CENTURYContemporaryApproaches toMunicipal Management

Volume V

Fighting Urban Poverty

Proceedings of a Forumin Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

26-29 June 2000

Edited by

Naved Hamid and Mildred Villareal

Published by theAsian Development Bank Institute

and the

Asian Development Bank

2001

IV

© Asian Development Bank 2001

All Rights Reserved

First published March 2001

The findings, interpretations, and conclusions hereindo not necessarily reflect the views of the Asian DevelopmentBank Institute, or the Asian Development Bank or itsmember governments. The ADB Institute and ADB do notguarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publicationand accept no responsibility whatsoever for anyconsequences of their use.

ISBN 971-561-317-9Publication Stock No. 100200

Published by the Asian Development Bank Institute andthe Asian Development BankP.O. Box 789, 0980 Manila, PhilippinesWeb site: http://www.adbi.org; http://www.adb.org

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CONTENTS

FOREWORD

I. SUMMARY 1

II. OPENING STATEMENTS 11

Chen Liangyu 11Standing Vice Mayor, Shanghai Municipal Government,People’s Republic of China

Masaru Yoshitomi 13Dean, Asian Development Bank Institute

Myoung-Ho Shin 19Vice President (West), Asian Development Bank

Lou Jiwei 25Vice Minister, Ministry of Finance,People’s Republic of China

III. ADDRESSING URBAN POVERTY ISSUES 29

Karina Constantino-David 32Professor of Community Development,University of the Philippines, andFormer Secretary of Housing and Urban DevelopmentCoordinating CouncilPhilippines

Xu Kuangdi 45Mayor, Shanghai Municipal Government,People’s Republic of China

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Dinesh Mehta 49Coordinator, Urban Management ProgrammeUnited Nations Centre for Human Settlements

Asad A. Shah 51Manager, Water Supply, Urban Development andHousing Division (East), Asian Development Bank

Bambang Sungkono 58Chairman, Regional Development Planning BoardJakarta, Indonesia

Lajana Manandhar 64Program CoordinatorLUMANTI Support Group for Shelter, Nepal

IV. CREATING JOBS FOR THE POOR 67

Weng Fulin 68Mayor, Fuzhou Municipality, People’s Republic of China

Jayshree Vyas 72Managing Director, Shri Mahila Sewa Sahakari Bank Ltd.,Ahmedabad, India

Benjamin R. Quiñones, Jr. 79Programme Coordinator, Asian andPacific Development Centre, Malaysia

V. POOR NO MORE: REDUCING POVERTY 85THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS

Omar Z. Kamil 86Mayor, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Mary Racelis 88Director, Institute of Philippine Culture,Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines

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VI. WORKING TOGETHER TO IMPROVE SLUMS 109

Pongsak Semson 111Inspector General, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration,Thailand

Arif Hasan 116Chairman, Orangi Pilot Project, Research andTraining Institute, Karachi, Pakistan

Emiel Wegelin 131Director, Institute of Housing and Urban DevelopmentStudies, Rotterdam, Netherlands

VII. PROVIDING HOUSING FOR THE POOR 139

Prasanna K. Mohanty 141Commissioner and Special Officer, Municipal Corporationof Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

Andrew Regalado 150National Director, Habitat for HumanityPhilippines Foundation, Inc.

Somsook Boonyabancha 156Secretary General, Asian Coalition for Housing Rightsand Managing Director, Urban CommunityDevelopment Office, Thailand

VIII. IMPROVING SERVICE DELIVERY TO THE POOR 169

Naved Hamid 170Senior Economist, Asian Development Bank

Rabial Mallick 183Project Leader, Christian Institute for the Study ofReligion and Society, Calcutta, India

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IX. NETWORKING 191

Fahmy Ismail 192Deputy Municipal Commissioner,Colombo Municipal Council, and Secretary General,CityNet-Sri Lanka National Chapter

P.U. Asnani 199Vice President, City Managers’ Association of Gujarat,Ahmedabad, India

X. GETTING RID OF URBAN WASTES 205

Mary Jane C. Ortega 207Mayor, City of San Fernando, Philippines

A.H. Md. Maqsood Sinha and Iftekhar Enayetullah 214Waste Concern, Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Kunitoshi Sakurai 224Professor, University of Okinawa, Japan

XI. CONCLUDING REMARKS 235

S.B. ChuaDirector, Capacity Building,Asian Development Bank Institute

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS 243

ABBREVIATIONS 259

In recent years, most governments in Asia haveundergone a dramatic change in their functioningby devolving certain responsibilities for delivery

of public services to local governments. However,this demands the right mix of skills and experienceof local leaders for them to manage effectively theirnew responsibilities.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) hasidentified improvement in management and publicservice delivery at the municipal level as a priorityarea in its governance agenda and, since 1997,together with the ADB Institute, has been organizingworkshops aimed at creating awareness of recentdevelopments in public-sector management at thelocal government level. Participants shareexperiences of successes in reforming municipalitiesand in motivating citizens and municipal managersto embrace change.

Three workshops were held betweenOctober 1997 and March 1998. Two wereorganized under an ADB regional technicalassistance on governance and development, whichfacilitated citizens’ initiatives to promote municipalgovernment reforms in Lahore, Pakistan, and Dhaka,Bangladesh, respectively. The third was the ADBInstitute-sponsored Municipal Management Forumin Tokyo, Japan.

The proceedings of these three workshopswere published in 1999 as Volumes I-III in thisseries, Asian Cities in the 21st Century:Contemporary Approaches to MunicipalManagement.

Subsequently, the ADB Institute and ADBinitiated a series of Asian Mayors’ Forums to enable

FOREWORD

Asian mayors and city leaders to discuss governanceissues at the local government level, shareexperiences in urban change, identify crucialmunicipal issues, and establish linkages andnetworks. The forums help mayors and city leaderskeep abreast of new developmental issues affectingAsian cities and identify reforms that they couldpursue in the delivery of municipal services toenhance the quality of life of their citizens.

There have been three Asian Mayors’ Forumsto date. The first was held in Cebu, Philippines, inDecember 1998, cosponsored by ADB, the ADBInstitute, and the City Government of Cebu. Thesecond, the proceedings of which were publishedas Volume IV in the Asian Cities in the 21st Centuryseries, was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in June 1999,and was cosponsored by ADB, ADB Institute,Colombo Plan Secretariat, United States Agency forInternational Development (USAID) Regional UrbanDevelopment Office for South Asia, US-AsiaEnvironmental Partnership Program, UrbanManagement Programme of the United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP) and the UnitedNations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS),Konrad Adenauer Foundation, German Agency forTechnical Cooperation (GTZ), and the ColomboMunicipal Council. That volume contains theexperiences of municipal leaders and representativesof development agencies in improving governanceand delivery of municipal services, particularlythrough partnerships with the private sector andnongovernment organizations (NGOs).

The present volume contains the proceedingsof the third Asian Mayors’ Forum, which focused onthe theme Fighting Urban Poverty and was held inShanghai, People’s Republic of China, on 26-29 June2000. It was attended by 109 participants, includingmayors, city administrators, local governmentofficials, NGOs, and private-sector representativesfrom 16 countries, and bilateral and multilateral aid

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agencies, including the UNDP/UNCHS UrbanManagement Programme, The Urban GovernanceInitiative of UNDP, the USAID Regional UrbanDevelopment Office for South Asia, the US-AsiaEnvironmental Partnership Program, and of course,the ADB Institute and ADB. Other internationalorganizations such as the Institute of Housing andUrban Development Studies, Rotterdam, andCityNet were also represented.

The individual contributions in this volumehave been condensed and substantially edited fromthe participants’ original presentations in view ofpublication constraints.

We are grateful for the invaluablecontributions of the participants and resourcepersons at this Forum. S.B. Chua coordinated theForum. Michiko Yoshida assisted in its organization.The Shanghai Municipal Government Team, headedby the Honorable Mayor Xu Kuangdi, hosted theForum and ensured that all the participants receivedthe best hospitality. Shipra Narang prepared theintroductory section for each chapter. Jay Macleanprovided editing services and Ramiro Cabrera didthe cover design.

We trust that this series will make a positivecontribution to the literature on municipalmanagement. Further, we hope it will prove to be auseful resource for city managers in their efforts toimprove the quality of life of their citizens and thuspromote the development of responsive andeffective local government.

Masaru YoshitomiDean, Asian Development Bank Institute

Shoji NishimotoDirector, Strategy and Policy DepartmentAsian Development Bank

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Summary

I. SUMMARY

Despite remarkable economic growth in Asiaand the Pacific in recent decades, the regionremains beset by high levels of poverty.

Nearly one billion people are living on less thanone dollar a day, and many of them are in urbanareas. Poverty reduction has become a priorityconcern for most developing countries in the region,and development agencies, nongovernmentorganizations, and the private sector are increasinglyworking together in this area. The AsianDevelopment Bank (ADB), in particular, hasresponded to this concern by reexamining its ownrole in development, as a result of which povertyreduction has become its overarching objective. Itwas appropriate, therefore, to dedicate themillennial Asian Mayors’ Forum to the theme offighting urban poverty.

The Forum, held on 26-29 June 2000 inShanghai City, People’s Republic of China (PRC), wasfocused on addressing urban poverty issues; creatingjobs for the poor; reducing poverty throughpartnerships; working together to improve slums;providing housing for the poor; and getting rid ofurban wastes. There were also special sessions onimproving service delivery to the poor andnetworking. Another important component of theForum was a field trip to the Pudong new industrialarea and Suzhou Creek, which enabled participants toview these high-priority urban programs in Shanghai.

The Forum commenced with the opening ofthe Exhibition on Innovations in Fighting UrbanPoverty. The Exhibition (Box I.1), whiledemonstrating the programs of cities anddevelopment agencies that have direct impact in

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MunicipalitiesFuzhou, PRC

Ho Chi Minh City, Viet NamJaipur, India

Lahore, Pakistan

Mandaluyong City, Philippines

Marikina City, PhilippinesMatale, Sri Lanka

Negombo, Sri LankaSan Fernando, Philippines

Shanghai, PRCTarlac City, Philippines

Development PartnersADB

Asian and Pacific Development Centre

Governance and Local Democracy Project(USAID)

Institute for Housing & Urban DevelopmentStudiesUrban Management Programme

US-AEP

NGOsHabitat for Humanity Philippines Foundation,Inc.Lumanti Support Group for Shelter, Kathmandu,NepalWaste Concern, Dhaka, Bangladesh

• Improving Housing Conditions for Medium-and Low-income People

• The “Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe” Canal Program• Income Generation Through Waste

Management• Zone for Animal Protein Production• Center for Education and Consciousness• Adopt-a-home for Kayumanggi-Ginhawa-

Busilak• Employment for the Jobless• The Garden of Hope• Bringing the Government Closer to People

• Squatter-free Marikina• Promoting Self-employment• Community Development Meeting with Low-

income People• Improving Living Conditions of the Poor• Solid Waste Management—Controlled

Dumpsite and Sanitary Landfill• Urban Infrastructure Development• City Government of Tarlac and Habitat for

Humanity—A Public-private Partnership inSolving Urban Poverty

• Benchmarking as a Means of ImprovingMunicipal Service Delivery

• Enterprise Management Centre• Global Smart Partnership Network• Integrated Solid Waste Management

• Andhra Pradesh Urban Services for the Poor

• Urban Poverty Reduction throughCommunity Empowerment in Colombo

• Environmental Management with PovertyConcerns in Nonthaburi, Thailand

• US-Asia Environmental Partnership Program

• Housing for the Poor

• Lumanti Living Well in the Urban Century

• Community-based Urban Solid WasteManagement in Dhaka

• Promotion of Recycling and ResourceRecovery from Solid Waste

Box I.1. List of Exhibition Participants

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Summary

reducing poverty, also generated discussion amongthe participants outside the Forum sessions.

The Forum sessions consisted ofpresentations on certain themes by a mayor/cityleader, NGO reprepresentative and/or developmentagencies/private-sector representative. Thepresentations were followed by discussions both inplenary and in separate small-group sessions whereparticipants exchanged experiences in greater detail,brought forth many issues and problems, anddiscussed possible solutions. The themes, outlinedbelow, and associated discussions form the chaptersof this volume.

Addressing Urban Poverty Issues (Chapter III)describes urban poverty concerns besetting mostAsian cities today and how these are being dealtwith through two levels of intervention: (a) byfocusing on communities and community-basedorganizations and building their capacity, and (b)through decentralization to the local governmentlevel.

Creating Jobs for the Poor (Chapter IV)discusses three different perspectives ofemployment, savings, and credit initiatives intackling the issues of livelihood and income securityfor the poor. The discussions among participantsfocused on the impact of the programs described,the opportunities and constraints, sustainability, andreplicability. Interventions from the floor dwelt uponthe need to encourage self-employment, and theconsequent need for training and "re-skilling". Theneed for a paradigm shift from traditional welfare-oriented credit schemes to contemporarymicrofinance and employment-generationprograms, was also recognized. The common threadrunning through various cities’ experiences withemployment and income generation was that thecities need to move from being providers ofemployment to becoming facilitators, creatingenabling environments for skills upgrading, creating

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opportunities, and increasing access to investmentcapital.

Reducing Poverty through Partnerships(Chapter V), comprises a specific case study ofColombo and a review of a range of poverty-reductionpartnership initiatives and experiences across Asia.Experiences in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and thePhilippines, in particular, highlighted that for povertyalleviation efforts to succeed, there must be a shift intraditional bureaucratic approaches to contemporarymanagement orientation. The responsibility forinitiating and building partnerships lies most definitelywith city governments. The city leadership must havea clearly articulated vision, well-defined goals, and awillingness to engage stakeholders in a "dialogue fordevelopment".

Key Issues for Creating Jobs for the Poor

• Lack of capacity of local governments togenerate gainful employment

• Ad hoc deployment of already scarceresources

• Glaring absence of a focus on skilldevelopment and training

Major Issues for Reducing Povertythrough Partnerships

• Need for a strong political will to buildpartnerships with poor constituents

• Role of NGOs• Need to build capacities of not only local

governments but also civil society

Working Together to Improve Slums (ChapterVI) brings to the fore issues related to land andsecurity of tenure, modalities of slum improvement,

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Summary

operational constraints, and potential for replication.Cross-sectoral viewpoints—from a public agency’sperspective and an NGO’s standpoint— werefollowed by a bird’s eye view of slum improvementprograms over the last three decades and the lessonsthat we have not learnt from them. The discussionscentered on community organizations, whichemerged as probably the only way to make effectiveinterventions in slum areas and informal settlements.Poor communities engaged in solving their day-to-day problems require technical and managerialsupport to improve their solutions. They are,however, averse to "owning" plans developed byothers. It was highlighted that a shift from a project-based approach to slum improvement to anintegrated program approach to poverty alleviationis urgently required.

Providing Housing for the Poor (Chapter VII)not only highlights national diversity in housingsituations, but also presents three completelydifferent approaches to supporting low-incomehousing for the poor. There is a range of housing

Key Issues and Recommendationsfor Slums Improvement

Key Issues• Availability of land• Security of tenure

Recommendations• Involvement of stakeholders• Capacity building of the urban poor• Strengthening local governments• Improving correlation between national

policies and local action impacting on thepoor

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development options that have been tried and testedin various Asian countries. They include on-sitecommunity improvement, land sharing,reconstruction and development, land exchange,and readjustment. The essence of the discussionswas that the role of local governments as enabler isquite critical. Governments must play the role offacilitator, enabling the land and housing market tooperate freely, and regulating it as required to ensureequity. Additionally, local governments must ensurethat all actors, not just the formal private sector,participate in the housing development process.

The participants also discussed the issue ofland, and went on to recommend that two levels ofintervention for land management be implemented.At the national level, there is a need to set out policyclearly, modify and simplify legislation, and developa policy environment for private-sector participation.At the local level, it is important to ensure thathousing for the poor is part of the city master planor structural plan and not an ad hoc exercise.

Improving Service Delivery to the Poor(Chapter VIII) discusses how benchmarking andcontinuous improvement strategies can be effectivein enhancing delivery of municipal services to thecitizens, and the use of report cards for assessingtheir performance, effectiveness, and user-responsiveness in Calcutta and New Delhi infighting urban poverty.

Networking (Chapter IX) illustrates byexample the importance of organizing professionalbodies of city managers and networks of cities forexchanging information and experiences, andidentifying, documenting, and transferring bestpractices.

Getting Rid of Urban Wastes (Chapter X)illustrates different experiences and good practicesof waste management given that the problems ofsolid waste are overwhelming Asian cities.Suggestions for improving waste management

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Summary

emphasized, first and foremost, reduction in thevolume of waste that enters the municipal system.This can be done through waste segregation atsource, community-based composting, etc. It wasalso highlighted that legislation related to solid wasteneeds to be strengthened and stringently enforced.Also, inclusion of the informal sector in solid wastemanagement, especially collection, segregation, andrecycling is important. Private-sector participationemerged as a useful mechanism being used by anumber of cities. However, whatever thetechnological and management options adopted,community awareness and involvement are criticalto the success of the intervention.

The discussion that followed was varied anddetailed and one of the most pertinent issues raisedwas waste management in slums and informalsettlements. The poor and disadvantaged peoplewho inhabit such settlements are the most criticallyaffected by the pollution and unsanitary livingconditions caused by waste "mis"management.Local governments, through mayors and other cityofficials, play a key role in decision making for urbanwaste management. This role must be performed inpartnership with a wider cross-section ofstakeholders in order to ensure sustainability.

Chapter XI contains the closing remarks ofS.B. Chua who noted the richness of thedeliberations, highlighted the achievements of theForum, and summarized some of the key messagesof the resource speakers.

The concluding session of the Forum, WhereDo We Go From Here?, was dedicated toformulating concrete recommendations and actionson how cooperation among the participating citiescan be expanded to increase the usefulness of theAsian Mayors’ Forum in promoting change andfighting urban poverty. A proposal for a follow-upwas presented, a three-year program for urban localbodies to mainstream poverty reduction in their

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policies and operations either by (a)institutionalizing processes for fighting urbanpoverty, or (b) initiating a major pilot project toreduce urban poverty. The program would beaccorded technical support from bilateral/multilateral organizations such as the ADB/ADBInstitute, Urban Management Programme, TheUrban Governance Initiative, CityNet, and othersuch agencies.

The proposal was discussed by participantsin groups based on national/subregionalrepresentation. Groups were, however, free todiscuss any other recommendations for follow-up.

The Philippines group endorsed the proposaland formulated a detailed program for its execution.This included visits among participating cities,preparation of urban poverty profiles, collection anddissemination of information on best practices, andinstitutionalization of an award system with theassistance of ADB and other sponsors.

Representatives from India committed toundertake wide-ranging programs for povertyreduction. Proposals included massive slumimprovement programs based on participation,labor contribution, central and state funding,capacity building, and skill development. The groupalso emphasized that municipal bodies mustdemonstrate commitment by earmarking at least 10percent of their own funds for poverty alleviation.

Delegates from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal,Pakistan, and Sri Lanka stated that each city in thesubregion would identify and work on a major pilotproject to be achieved within three years. Theproposals to this effect would be submitted in threemonths and would necessarily involve stakeholderparticipation, and include a poverty profile. Theurban local authorities from the subregioncommitted to contribute financial and otheravailable resources and to mobilize additionalresources for the program.

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Summary

A group of participants from East andSoutheast Asia, including PRC, Indonesia, theRepublic of the Fiji Islands, Lao PDR, Malaysia,Thailand, and Viet Nam, emphasized thatinstitutionalization is the key to combating urbanpoverty. They endorsed the program presented andagreed to submit proposals to this effect. The localgovernments also committed to undertake onemajor pilot project in the areas of solid wastemanagement, housing, capacity building, and citygovernance.

The donor agency representatives resolvedto set up mechanisms amongst themselves and othersupport agencies for screening proposals. They alsoagreed to support national forums with membershipof a select group of cities, and to extend support toassociations of mayors. It was also decided to buildan information database of available in-countryresources and existing expertise in reducing poverty.

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Opening Statements

II. OPENING STATEMENTS

CHEN LIANGYUStanding Vice Mayor, Shanghai MunicipalGovernmentPeople’s Republic of China

Cities are the important carriers ofindustrialization and the engines of themodern economy. During the present

transition from one century to the next, theinformation revolution has taken place. It has madecities all over the world face important historicchallenges and opportunities. With the coming ofthe new era, more importance should be given tostrengthening international communication andcooperation among cities. The Asian Mayors’Forum is a very significant event in this regard, andShanghai City gives its full support to this Forum.

As the biggest economic entity in thePeople’s Republic of China (PRC), Shanghai is nowfacing the coming of the new century with aproactive attitude. We are aiming to pursue theeconomic and social development of Shanghai onthe basis of urban information and to radicallyimprove our global competitiveness. We have theconfidence to meet this challenge and opportunitywhen the PRC enters the World Trade Organizationand economic globalization.

At present, we are accelerating constructionof the Shanghai information port. Within this year itis expected to form an internationally advancedinformation network platform and multilevel city-area network with wide band, high speed, and bigcapacity. The annual gross production in theinformation industry will exceed Y100 billion. It will

Cities are theimportantcarriers ofindustrializationand the enginesof the moderneconomy.

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become an important pillar of industry in Shanghai.At the same time, the industrial structure will beadjusted to pay more attention to the progress ofscience and technological innovation. Theimportant point is to enhance the combination ofindustry and academe and promote industrializationof the outputs of science and technology. We willconcentrate our strengths on accelerating thedevelopment of the science and technology park inZhangjiang at Pudong. We will actively utilizemodern information technologies to transformtraditional industries. Urban infrastructure will becontinuously developed on a large scale. Roadtransportation and high-class roads will becomenew investment focal points.

In the course of urban development andadjustments in the industrial sector, Shanghai hasbeen faced with some difficulties and challenges.These include the loss or transfer of staff positions,environmental pollution that has accumulatedthrough the years, and the burden of transformingold areas. Thus, we have tried hard to move forwardin order to develop the economy, expandemployment, transform the old areas, improve theenvironment, and promote better living conditionsamong the people. We have established socialsecurity systems for medical care, retirement,unemployment, and low-income groups. Moreover,Shanghai is in the process of transforming 3.65million square meters of old sheds and shabbyhouses in the central areas of Shanghai City; this isexpected to be finished before the end of 2000.

We plan to increase net employment by 0.3million positions in the next three years over thewhole city. Shanghai is also developing a three-yearplan for urban management and environmentrehabilitation. The plan attempts to improve waterpollution treatment, solid waste management, urbangreen areas, and ecological systems, and to promoteclean energy use.

The importantpoint is toenhance thecombination ofindustry andacademe andpromoteindustrializationof the outputs ofscience andtechnology.

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Opening Statements

The Forum this year has undoubtedly a verypractical significance for the cities in Asia, especiallyfor those that are reforming both their economicsystem and economic structure. We believe that thisForum will present many experiences of citymanagement, explore relevant issues, and result innew measures for overcoming urban poverty andpromoting the healthy development of cities in theregion.

Finally, I hope this meeting is very successful,and wish every delegate a happy time in Shanghai.

MASARU YOSHITOMIDean, Asian Development Bank Institute

The Asian Development Bank Institute is indeedpleased to be able once again in this Forum to workwith our other cosponsors, the Asian DevelopmentBank (ADB); the Regional Urban DevelopmentOffice, South Asia, of the United States Agency forInternational Development (USAID); the UnitedStates-Asia Environmental Partnership Program; theUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/United Nations Centre for Human Settlements(UNCHS) (Habitat) Urban Management Programme;The Urban Governance Initiative of UNDP, KualaLumpur; and CityNet from Japan. We are alsograteful to the Shanghai Municipal Government forkindly agreeing to host this Forum and for tirelesslyassisting us by making the excellent arrangementsfor the conduct of the Forum.

Theme of the Forum: Fighting Urban Poverty

Notwithstanding the 1997/98 financial andeconomic crisis, our region has achieved remarkablegrowth over the past several decades, with somecountries achieving consistently double digiteconomic expansion year after year. This has led

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the World Bank and others to describe ourachievement in the period before the crisis as theAsian Miracle. However, despite such goodeconomic performance, the Asia-Pacific region hashigh incidence of poverty. In fact, we are home toclose to a billion of the world’s 1.3 billion poor,defined as those surviving on less than one dollar aday. A large majority lives in the urban areas. Manyare from the cities represented in this Forum today.We cannot be proud of our achievements when themajority of our citizens continues to remain poor. Itis time that we double our effort to help them andthat is what this Forum is all about.

Urban Poverty Issues

How can we best help the urban poor? If we are tobe of any help to them, we must first understandthe problems they face. The problems of the urbanpoor are often more formidable and frequently moreacute and complex than those faced by the ruralpoor. Their problems, as I see them, are

• a higher sense of deprivation anddemoralization than their poor cousins in therural areas;

• access to food only through trade, whereastheir rural counterparts can gain access tofood directly as well as through trade;

• typically poor education, accompanied bylack of experience and skills;

• unstable incomes, mainly earned in theinformal sector, often by retrieving andselling wastes or by performing minorpersonal services;

• little protection from sickness and injury;• unpredictable demand for their services;• little human capital and almost no physical

capital;• no access to credit markets;

We cannot beproud of ourachievementswhen themajority of ourcitizenscontinues toremain poor.

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Opening Statements

• discrimination in the provision ofgovernment services; and

• often illegal settlements with no access toeducation and health services, usually in dirtyand unhealthy environments or in slum areas.

The poorest of the poor are in householdswith the largest number of consumers relative toincome earners. Frequently in households in whichthere is no income, the most disadvantaged are thechildren, their mothers, and grandparents.

As I enumerate their many problems, Iwonder if fighting urban poverty will be too tall anorder. I know that it will not be easy, as povertyreduction involves resolution of multidimensionalsocial and cross-cutting issues. However, we mustnot lose heart. How should we go about doing it?

First, we need many people like yourselvesto be involved. We need all of you represented here,the mayors, the nongovernment organizations(NGOs), the private sector, the multilateral andbilateral agencies, and other government agenciesto do your part. Fighting poverty can only succeedif all stakeholders including the poor themselves areinvolved. Second, our region is a dynamic one asdemonstrated in the past when, as I had indicatedearlier, it achieved rapid economic development.We need to use the strength of the region to focuson poverty reduction. We should concentrate insupporting pro-poor growth strategies. Third, wemust improve our own knowledge and capacity onpoverty reduction. Part of the Forum’s objective isto do just that. Fourth, we must adopt a strategyand set some priorities in areas where assistanceshould be provided. We have accordingly targetedfive priority areas as session topics in this Forum:

• Creating Jobs for the Poor• Poor No More: Reducing Poverty Through

Partnerships

Fighting povertycan onlysucceed if allstakeholdersincluding thepoor themselvesare involved.

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• We Can Do It: Working Together to ImproveSlums

• Providing Housing for the Poor• Getting Rid of Urban Wastes

Creating Jobs for the Poor

We thought that the first thing we must do is to makebetter use of the only asset that the poor have inabundance: their labor. If we can create employmentfor them and let them earn an income, it will go along way toward generating the funds they need tofeed, clothe, and house themselves. But how can wecreate jobs for the poor? Some of you have achievedgreat success in this and we want to hear and learnfrom the mayors, the NGOs, and the private sectorhow this was done. We want to listen to you on howyou manage to attract labor-intensive investments;increase the entrepreneurship of the urban poor sothey can start small-scale enterprises such as foodstalls, candy production, etc.; and upgrade theirskills to enable them to find employment.

Poor No More: Reducing Poverty ThroughPartnerships

The next question we want to ask concerns whoare the people who can help. The people who canhelp are you. We know that no single agency orgovernment will be able to do the job by itself. Weneed help from the governments, the multilateraland bilateral aid agencies, the NGOs, thecommunity organizations, the private sector, andthe poor themselves. We need to tap the resourcesand expertise of everybody to cooperate and worktogether as partners to help our less fortunate citizensget out of poverty. We know that partnerships havesucceeded well in providing health, education, andwater supply, and in creating employment for theurban poor in some cities. We want such

The first thingwe must do is tomake better useof the only assetthat the poorhave inabundance:their labor.

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Opening Statements

information to be disseminated. The discussion inthis session will focus on development and financingof urban development investments through public-private sector partnerships that directly addresspoverty reduction in terms of jobs created, accessto basic infrastructure and services, anddevelopment of holistic urban community processesto enable the poor to participate in the political andeconomic mainstream.

We Can Do It: Working Together to ImproveSlums

Many of our cities are overcrowded with inadequatesanitation facilities that often result in theproliferation of urban slums and marginalsettlements. This has directly caused ourenvironment to deteriorate. You often hear ofcommunal riots and inadequacy of basic services.They all contribute to the physical degradation ofcities. But some cities in Asia have successfullymanaged to solve some of the slum problems. Wewant to learn how they did it. We want to knowhow some cities have successfully adopted anintegrated approach to provide physicalinfrastructure like housing, sanitation, drainage,community latrines, etc., that have resulted in slumimprovement.

Providing Housing for the Poor

Decent shelter remains one of the basic needs ofpeople. Due to lack of resources, the urban poorare unable to meet this basic need. So what do theydo? They encroach on government or private landor build temporary shelters in whatever space isavailable to them. We want to hear how some citieshave come up with various types of socializedhousing programs that have successfully addressedthis need of the poor.

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Getting Rid of Urban Wastes

As cities become more populated, increasingquantities of urban wastes are generated. Municipalwaste management is complex and often, whengarbage is not collected on time, the urban poorhave no choice but to throw their wastes in thestreets and canals, causing deterioration of theenvironment, contaminated water supplies, andincreased impoverishment. We need to createawareness of proper hygiene, sanitation, and wastedisposal. Thus, we decided to include this sessionto focus on the fact that getting rid of urban wastesis the collective responsibility of the variousstakeholders and also on appropriate measures toimprove municipal waste management.

Finally, we need your active participationand your subsequent contribution to help our lessfortunate citizens achieve better living standards.The hope is on you, because you, as mayors, doexert a vast amount of influence on the lives of thepeople that you represent. The ADB Institute canonly do so much to support you, through this Forum,to do more for the poor. It is our hope that you gainadditional insights from your colleagues, which onreturn to your cities will help you to place povertyreduction at the forefront of your agenda for effectiveurban governance. This Forum will have achievedits objectives if a year from now you tell us that youhave redirected and redoubled your efforts to assistthe poor. We would then have cause for somecelebration.

This Forum willhave achievedits objectives ifa year from nowyou tell us thatyou haveredirected andredoubled yourefforts to assistthe poor.

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Opening Statements

MYOUNG-HO SHINVice President (Region West)Asian Development Bank

I am very happy to be here with you. ADB isdelighted once again to join forces with the ADBInstitute and to work with our cosponsors in stagingthis, the third Asian Mayors’ Forum.

I would like to express deep gratitude to theShanghai Municipal Government and its staff fortheir warm hospitality and for making this Forumpossible. ADB’s presence in the PRC is reallygrowing: just two weeks ago, we opened ourresident mission in Beijing.

ADB and Poverty Reduction

I am particularly pleased that the Forum’s maintheme is Fighting Urban Poverty, because theeradication of poverty is the central, dominantconcern of ADB.

Ladies and gentlemen, the human race isclever enough and has enough physical, financial,and intellectual resources available to it to endabsolute poverty in the world within a generation.The targets set by the UN and others are not soambitious and recognize the practical and politicalobstacles that separate actuality from ambition. Butlet me say that global social stability is at least asimportant as global financial stability. What we mustput in place is a global architecture for povertyreduction. Efforts must be made at global, regional,national, and community levels if we want to seeour world truly free of absolute poverty.

Last year, ADB reexamined its own role indevelopment. I am happy to report that itrededicated itself to fighting poverty. Povertyreduction is now its overarching objective. ADB’slong-term strategic framework is being rethought.All of ADB’s strategic development objectives will

The humanrace is cleverenough andhas enoughphysical,financial, andintellectualresourcesavailable to it toend absolutepoverty in theworld within ageneration.

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be now pursued in ways that help end poverty. Afundamental shift has begun in the way ADBconducts its operations. Every loan we make, everytechnical assistance grant we provide, is nowexpected to make a practical contribution to thecause of poverty reduction.

Poverty Reduction Strategy

ADB is deploying a poverty reduction strategy builton three pillars: pro-poor, sustainable economicgrowth; social development; and good governance.I would like to discuss these with you briefly.

First, pro-poor, sustainable economic growthis growth that increases economic opportunities,raises workers’ productivity and wages, andincreases the public revenue available for basichealth care, education, and amenities. In East Asia,most countries reduced the incidence of povertyby half or more in just two decades; this is a cleardemonstration of the importance of economicgrowth for poverty reduction.

Second, economic growth can mosteffectively reduce poverty if it is accompanied bywell-targeted programs for social development,which can increase employment opportunities forand living standards of the poor. Every country needsa comprehensive poverty reduction strategy thatprovides adequate budget allocations fordevelopment of human capital, targets basic socialservices for the poor, removes genderdiscrimination, addresses population growth, andprovides social protection.

Third, good governance is absolutely criticalto poverty reduction. ADB strongly supports theimprovement of governance in its borrowingcountries. Sound, transparent, and accountablepublic institutions are indispensable elements forpro-poor growth and social progress. Thesustainability of growth, the enhancement of social

ADB isdeploying apovertyreductionstrategy built onthree pillars:pro-poor,sustainableeconomicgrowth; socialdevelopment;and goodgovernance.

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Opening Statements

equity, the participation of the poor, and theadministrative efficiency and effectiveness ofgovernment are all in jeopardy without goodgovernance.

Fight against Urban Poverty

While most of Asia’s poor live in rural areas, urbanpoverty is an increasing challenge for the publicauthorities. People leave the land for the city insearch of employment and a better way of life, butall too often they end up with no work and noprospects. Thus, many cities of Asia are homes tosquatter communities, in which life is lived with noamenities and little dignity. The urban poor are toooften caught in a vicious circle of deprivation. Localgovernment resources are often exhausted just inproviding palliatives for ever-increasing numbers ofpeople. There is nothing left for investment ineconomic growth and the poor are condemned tostay poor.

Ladies and gentlemen, the situation for theurban poor is desperate. We need reneweddedication, revitalized efforts, and vigorous actionif we are to confront and overcome urban poverty.

ADB’s Poverty Reduction Framework

ADB wants to intensify its cooperation with itsdeveloping member countries (DMCs) in fightingpoverty, both in the towns and countryside. We havedeveloped a framework in which ADB and otherinternational agencies can join forces to help DMCs.Let me mention some of its elements.

First, ADB has set itself specific targetsagainst which to measure its own progress in helpingto reduce poverty. From 2001 onwards, at least 40percent of our public-sector lending will be forpoverty reduction projects. There will be emphasison social and infrastructure development to provide

We havedeveloped aframework inwhich ADB andotherinternationalagencies canjoin forces tohelp DMCs.

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the poor with access to essential services, includingelectricity, access roads, water supply and sanitation,education, and primary health care. Put the basicsin place and keep them there, ladies and gentlemen,and you give the poor a chance to earn income andbreak free from destitution.

Second, we are formulating country-specificantipoverty strategies leading to partnershipagreements with DMC governments. Bangladeshand Mongolia have already signed such agreements,which stipulate monitorable goals for povertyreduction and social development by 2010, and theycommit ADB to support government efforts to reachthem. Support for urban development investmentthrough public-private sector partnerships figuresstrongly in our thinking. We are also updating ourbroader country operational strategies to ensure abetter and more consistent focus on povertyreduction.

Third, ADB has put together a new private-sector strategy. A competitive and efficient privatesector is a primary engine of development. It is themajor creator of income opportunities. We believeit to be an essential component of an effective andlasting attack on poverty. I would mention here thatwe see a key role for the private sector in thedevelopment of small and medium enterprises.

Fourth, and related to what I just said, ADBhas developed a new microfinance strategy. It entailssupport for innovative, sustainable programs aimedat poverty reduction, and it requires the integrationof microfinance programs into the overall financialsector programs of each country. We seemicrofinance as a powerful tool for helping theurban poor to start small enterprises as well asupgrade their skills so they can find a job.

Fifth, ADB is looking for new financingmechanisms in the area of poverty reduction. Forexample, in May 2000, ADB’s Board approved theestablishment of the Japan Fund for Poverty

Support forurbandevelopmentinvestmentthrough public-private sectorpartnershipsfigures stronglyin our thinking.

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Opening Statements

Reduction in an initial amount of US$90 million.This fund will be used to provide grants for povertyreduction and capacity-building efforts associatedwith ADB loan projects.

Sixth is the all-important matter of dialogue,not only with DMC governments but also with otherstakeholders, including NGOs and—most notably—the poor themselves. We are very mindful too ofcoordination with multilateral and bilateral aidagencies, including the World Bank and UNagencies.

Finally, ADB is using its technical assistancefunds to study poverty-related issues in its DMCs.For instance, ADB recently cosponsored aninternational conference in Beijing on the PRC’sPoverty Reduction Strategy. The conclusion was thatpoverty reduction efforts in the next decade shouldfocus on the poor areas of western PRC, on ethnicminorities, and on improvements to the quality oflife. ADB endorses the PRC’s drive to develop itsimpoverished western regions. Over the next threeyears, ADB lending for projects in the west is likelyto rise to 75 percent of its total PRC lending. ADB isalso undertaking an urban poverty study in the PRC.This will help the Government to measure urbanpoverty and identify an analytical framework in linewith ADB’s poverty strategy. It may lead to moreinvestments similar to the US$25 million it put intoa water supply project in Chengdu, the capital ofSichuan Province. A similar urban poverty study willbe undertaken shortly in India, and others mayfollow.

Portfolio Consequences

As a consequence of our renewed efforts to fightpoverty, ADB’s portfolio of water supply, wastewater,and sanitation projects is likely to increase steadily.I need hardly tell you, ladies and gentlemen, thatreducing the extent of waterborne disease

ADB’s portfolioof water supply,wastewater, andsanitationprojects is likelyto increasesteadily.

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substantially enhances the well-being of the poor.Clean drinking water is absolutely basic fordevelopment and improvement of living conditions.So too is provision of wastewater services. Theseare very much a matter of concern to municipalauthorities, as is also the provision of shelter for theurban poor. ADB is looking again at ways to providehousing loans to low-income households.

Conclusion

Distinguished participants, these are some of thethings ADB is doing. Among you are policymakersfrom our DMCs and international scholars. I thankyou for coming to this Forum to share your viewsand experiences and I want to hear your commentson our work.

I am confident that this Forum will contributeto a deeper understanding of the nature and causesof urban poverty and of the challenges that lie aheadin tackling it. I hope it will yield practicalrecommendations for joint future actions. Povertyis overwhelmingly the social issue confronting Asiain the 21st century. We must all work seriouslytogether, yet with glad hearts, to make our region abetter place, to make our cities fit to live in, and tomake our citizens more healthy, better fed, andbetter educated.

Poverty isoverwhelminglythe social issueconfronting Asiain the 21stcentury.

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Opening Statements

LOU JIWEIVice Minister, Ministry of FinancePeople’s Republic of China

I am pleased to have the opportunity to attend thisForum. Please allow me, on behalf of the Ministryof Finance of the PRC, to extend our warm greetingsat the opening of this meeting and our heartfeltwelcome to all the representatives present.

Since the PRC joined ADB, friendlycooperation of both sides has continuouslydeveloped. As of April 2000, ADB has provided atotal of approximately US$9.5 billion in loans tothe PRC. The loan projects involve many sectors,such as agriculture, forestry, water conservation, andenvironmental protection. ADB has also offeredabout US$0.17 billion for technical assistance tothe PRC, which has mainly been used in researchon the macroeconomy and policy. These loan andtechnical assistance projects have played importantroles in promoting economic reform anddevelopment in the PRC. I believe that, with theeconomic reform in the PRC deepening constantly,friendly cooperation between the PRC and ADB willbe further developed.

The PRC is a large developing country thatis undergoing transition to a socialist marketeconomy. In the process of transition, the greatresponsibility of policymaking falls on our shoulders.We must maintain fast and sustainable economicgrowth, adapt ourselves to drastic structuraladjustment, steer and accelerate the process ofurbanization, set up an organizational structure thatfits into all these processes, and introduceappropriate policies. Faced with such greatpolicymaking responsibility, we should enlarge ourhorizon, understand the actual situation of the dualeconomy and the social structure in the PRC, attachgreat importance to the significance of the urbandevelopment and urbanization process, pay close

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attention to the problems of urban poverty andenvironmental pollution brought about byurbanization in other countries, and learn from theirapproaches how to address these problems earnestlyon the basis of our present situation.

The PRC Government has made sustainableefforts over a long period in all these aspects. In thepast two years, with the implementation ofexpansionary fiscal policy and reinforcement ofmeasures, we have invested more than Y100 billionin the areas of ecology restoration, pollution control,and urban environment improvement. We have alsomade great endeavors to reduce urban poverty byimproving the present system and ensuring a basicliving standard.

The PRC Government has now implementeda basic living-standard insurance system and anunemployment insurance system for laid-off workersin state-owned enterprises; a minimum living-standard insurance system in urban and townshipareas; and established and gradually improved apension and health insurance system for urban andtownship residents that combines government andindividual contributions. At present, 668 cities and1,638 townships throughout the country haveestablished a minimum living-standard insurancesystem.

Since July 1999, the PRC Government hasenhanced the living standard of urban and townshipresidents to a great extent, including increasing thebasic living wage, unemployment insurance benefits,and minimum living-standard insurance benefits forlaid-off workers in state-owned enterprises by 30percent; enhancing the pension distribution standard;and enhancing the allowance and favorabletreatment standard for soldiers on active service,veterans, disabled veterans, and their families.

The PRC’s large population makes the taskof helping the poor very hard. With the developmentof urbanization and the continuous increase in the

In the past twoyears, we haveinvested morethan Y100billion in theareas of ecologyrestoration,pollutioncontrol, andurbanenvironmentimprovement.

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number of cities, towns, and urban populations, thecities are confronted with such problems as heavyemployment pressure and deterioration of theenvironment. Mr Deng Xiaoping, the generaldesigner of PRC reform and opening-up policies,stated that the nature of socialism is to liberate anddevelop productive forces, eliminate exploitation,remove polarization, and finally reach the objectiveof common prosperity. To solve the problems arisingfrom urbanization, the PRC must adopt the basicrequirements of developing a socialist marketeconomy. With the deepening of economic reformand the adjustment of industrial structure, the PRCGovernment has full confidence to make use of allavailable resources to solve the difficulties andproblems of urban development.

This Forum is very timely and necessary. Itprovides us a very precious opportunity tocommunicate. We would like very much to takethis opportunity to further strengthen cooperationwith ADB and other international organizations andlearn about valuable experiences on urbanmanagement in other countries.

I would like to express my heartfelt thanksto the ADB Institute for their great efforts. At thesame time, I hope through this meeting we canstrengthen international links; jointly make strongefforts to eradicate poverty; and promote the stable,healthy, and sustainable development of cities.

To solve theproblemsarising fromurbanization,the PRC mustadopt the basicrequirements ofdeveloping asocialist marketeconomy.

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Addressing Urban Poverty Issues

III. ADDRESSING URBAN

III. POVERTY ISSUES

The thematic focus of the Forum and thecontext of urbanization and poverty withinwhich it is placed, were sketched very ably

in the keynote address by Prof. Karina Constantino-David. She spoke about the uncontrolledurbanization patterns, the widening chasm betweenthe rich and the poor, systematic exclusion of thepoor from the development process, and themisplaced emphasis on "economic growth" as thesole trigger as well as indicator of "development".Citing specific examples of Philippine cities, Prof.David highlighted the lopsided and inequitablenature of present-day economic policies, and alsodwelt upon the hurdles encountered by those whoseek to bring about a change in this "parasitic"development paradigm from top-down to bottom-up, and from centralized to decentralized systemsof determining policy, resource allocation, andprogram implementation.

Prof. David also outlined some actions thatcould be taken by cities to tackle urban poverty onan immediate basis, including

• establishment of minimum quality-of-lifeindicators;

• learning from the poor;• maximizing innovative initiatives;• making the market work; and• focusing on newly emerging cities.

The Mayor of Shanghai, Hon. Xu Kuangdi,narrated the historical development of Shanghai,

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the adoption of the economic reform process, andthe measures taken to combat poverty. Theseinclude establishment of the social security system;revision and adoption of the unemploymentinsurance system; creation of more reemploymentopportunities; and ensuring the right of medical careand education for low-income residents of the city.He expressed the hope that through the commonefforts of Asian mayors, more and more residentsin Asian cities will have better lives and the futureof Asian urban societies will be brighter.

A panel discussion on Addressing UrbanPoverty Issues helped to define further and prioritizekey poverty issues and set the tone for laterdeliberations. The discussion was moderated by Dr.Dinesh Mehta, who spoke about the many facetsof poverty and highlighted its key dimensions fromthe perspective of the poor: survival—the level ofincome for minimal subsistence, goods or incomesubstitution, and access to curative health;security—predictability of income, assets, andsavings base, entitlements, and empowerment; andquality of life—public health concerns of cleanwater and sanitation, environmental hazards likeflooding and fire, and discomfort and drudgery.

Dr. Mehta also expounded on the majorchallenges faced by cities in the 21st century. Apartfrom the exponential growth of urban populationsin Asian countries, urbanization of poverty isperhaps the most significant developmentphenomenon of our times. He also spoke of theneed to tackle poverty issues both at the national(policymaking) level as well as the local(operational) level. At the national level, effectiveresponses to poverty would require acceleration ofhuman development (access of poor to education,health, and basic services), and acceleration ofeconomic growth, accompanied by improveddistribution of income and wealth. At the local level,responses to poverty could take the form of

Urbanization ofpoverty isperhaps themost significantdevelopmentphenomenon ofour times.

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improved urban governance, empowerment of thepoor, and strategic partnerships of localgovernments and civil society for the poor.

Panelist Mr. Asad Ali Shah described ADB'snew poverty reduction strategy. He highlighted theshift in focus from "income poverty" to "humanpoverty", which is a recognition of the fact thatpoverty is a multidimensional issue, the variousaspects of which cannot be captured in somethingas simplistic as the one-dollar-a-day definition. Healso touched upon causes and characteristics ofurban poverty and listed key urban poverty issues:

• excessive spatial concentration in the largestcities;

• enormous requirements for low-costhousing;

• deteriorating urban quality of life;• bypassing of the poor in the development

process;• lack of well-targeted poverty programs; and• need for improved social protection.

ADB's poverty reduction strategyemphasizes the need for continued economicgrowth, improvement in economic efficiency andproductivity, and improved governance. Renewedefforts of ADB towards poverty alleviation includedeveloping country programs with a strongemphasis on poverty reduction, a microfinancedevelopment strategy, poverty-focused advisorytechnical assistance programs, and increasedlending specifically for "poverty interventions".

The presentations from these twointernational agency perspectives led to aninteresting debate on whether or not multilateralagencies should move from lending only to nationalgovernments to lending directly to localgovernments.

Poverty is amultidimensionalissue, thevarious aspectsof which cannotbe captured insomething assimplistic as theone-dollar-a-day definition.

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Panelist Mr. Bambang Sungkono describedpoverty alleviation initiatives before, during, andmost importantly, after the economic crisis that hitIndonesia in 1997. He recounted the overwhelmingimpact of the economic crisis on Jakarta City, whichis largely dependent on tertiary-sector economicactivities. A four-phase strategy focusing on(a) rescue, (b) recovery, (c) stabilization, and(d) development has been created to counter theimpact of the crisis. The presentation brought outthe need to make the initiatives of various agenciesmore coordinated and cohesive.

Finally, panelist Ms. Lajana Manandharreinforced the last point mentioned above. Ms.Manandhar described the participatory consultationapproach to address poverty issues beingimplemented by Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City,Nepal, in partnership with LUMANTI and the UrbanManagement Programme. She presented a briefpoverty profile of Lalitpur and brought a messagefrom leaders of poor communities in Kathmandu:we should look at the poor the way we look at ourown friends and relatives and treat themaccordingly.

KARINA CONSTANTINO-DAVIDProfessor of Community Development,University of the Philippines, andFormer Secretary of Housing andUrban Development Coordinating Council,Philippines

In 1960, less than 50 percent of the then 19megacities in the world were in developingcountries. Today, more than 80 percent of thepresent 60 megacities are found in the South. Injust four decades, our cities have grownspectacularly. All of our countries can boast of atleast one major city that serves as the center of

More than 80percent of thepresent 60megacities arefound in theSouth.

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governance and commerce. At the same time, weall have newer cities that are also developing at analarming rate. While the presence of modernamenities marks our cities, a large segment of theirpopulations lives with barely the basic necessitiesfor survival. The urban poor eke out a living in themidst of affluence, scavenging from the remains ofthe consumerist lifestyle of our cities; they have beensystematically excluded from urban development.

We have known for decades that urbanizationis rapidly spreading together with all its concomitantills. But our governments chose to prioritize"development" even when countries of the Northwere already exhibiting the negative characteristics ofunplanned growth. We set our sights on emulatingthe patterns of more developed countries, blindlyimporting and transplanting images of cities from themore affluent parts of the globe into what wereessentially underdeveloped nations.

Parasitic Development

The problem with development is that it impliesmovement toward a goal. Through the years, thismovement has focused primarily on economicgrowth. The hope and the promise were that therewould be a trickle-down effect of growth. Towardsthe second half of the 1980s, the concept ofsustainable development was introduced.Sustainable development was meant to correct theflaws of developmental thinking by balancingpresent economic growth against the needs ofgenerations to come. But this kept us essentially onthe same path of development except that theimportance of the environment we share has cometo the fore.

But even with the acceptance of sustainabledevelopment by governments and multilateralagencies, the realities have not changed for the vastmasses of people in the South. A parasitic form of

We set oursights onemulating thepatterns of moredevelopedcountries,blindlyimporting andtransplantingimages of citiesfrom the moreaffluent parts ofthe globe.

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development is what we have. It is a developmentthat blindly assumes that human and naturalresources are inexhaustible. It sacrifices the poorand the environment at the altar of the market andits promises of economic growth.

Economic growth and its consequentpatterns of consumption cannot be equated withan improvement in the quality of life. In fact, whilethe pursuit of economic growth has indeedproduced increases in trade, investment, and outputin general, it has also resulted in widening disparitiesand inequalities among people and nations. Thetransactional and utilitarian nature of the markethas further disempowered masses of people andtheir environments.

The unquestioned development paradigmand the rush of our governments to compete in theglobal market have had disastrous results. On theone hand, cities have grown to attract foreigninvestments while on the other, our rural areas havestagnated. Finding no way out of poverty, rural folkmigrate to the cities in search of wage work. But foran underdeveloped country to attract foreigninvestments, one prerequisite is low wages. Thesemigrants swell the ranks of the urban poor, engagingin low-paying contractual jobs, surviving throughthe informal economy, and residing in informalsettlements. In a very real sense, the irony of ourcities is that they develop at the expense of the poorand our environment.

A more appropriate direction would besustainable improvement in the quality of life. Thisallows us to focus on the needs of the poor andthe environment within the realities of eachcountry without compromising the ability of futuregenerations to meet their own needs. Sustainableimprovement in the quality of life, as proposedby the Independent Commission on Populationand Quality of Life, requires us to respect the limitsof the globe's carrying capacity while at the same

In a very realsense, the ironyof our cities isthat theydevelop at theexpense of thepoor and ourenvironment.

A moreappropriatedirection wouldbe sustainableimprovement inthe quality oflife.

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time taking responsibility for the needs of peopleand the environment, our caring capacity. Theantithesis of care is power and control, abuse, andaggression.

In order to take the path of sustainableimprovement in the quality of life, it is important tostart from the realization that the continuedparasitism of society on the misery of the poor andthe degradation of the environment will inevitablybecome the basis for the unsustainability andbreakdown of our cities.

How Philippine Cities Illustrate Patterns ofParasitism

The Philippine population is 51 percent urban,roughly 38 million people or 6.5 million families.The country has one of the highest rates of urbangrowth in the developing world at 5.1 percent overthe past four decades. This has been due to a highbirth rate of about 2.3 percent, rural-urban migrationand the reclassification into urban of rural areas dueto increasing population densities. It is significantto note that while rural-urban migration is still amajor source of the increasing urban populations,especially in newer cities, it is the second- and third-generation migrants in areas like Metro Manila thatare the greater number. Migration is obviously atestimony of the continuing poverty in thecountryside that forces the poor to seek survival inthe cities.

Of the urban population, about 10 millionlive in Metro Manila, which has an annual growthrate of 3.3 percent. More than 30 percent of thegross national product originates from here. Buteasily 3.5 million can be categorized as urban poor.Some 10,000 families live along the Pasig Riveralone, 32,000 families along the major tributaries,45,000 families beside the railroad tracks, and therest in pockets of urban decay that range from a

The continuedparasitism ofsociety on themisery of thepoor and thedegradation ofthe environmentwill inevitablybecome thebasis for theunsustainabilityand breakdownof our cities.

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handful of families to major slums in the tens ofthousands of people.

The urban environment has long beenabused by air, noise, and water pollution;inadequate waste disposal; and congestion. Thecarrying capacity, the maximum sustainable loadthat humankind can impose on the environmentbefore it loses its capacity to support humanactivity, is in peril. Motorized transport accountsfor 94 percent of the total organic gas in the air,99 percent of the carbon monoxide, and 83percent of the nitrogen oxide emissions.Industries release massive amounts of sulfurdioxide, and domestic and industrial waste ishaphazardly dumped into the city's waterwaysand streets. Apart from these, environmentaldegradation can be seen in various disasters thatregularly occur—flooding, traffic chaos, homesdestroyed by landslides and other earthmovements, deaths of wildlife in the rivers andseas, etc.

Even as we strain the carrying capacity ofthe metropolis, the inadequacy of our caringcapacity is obvious. Metro Manila is home to thebest of urban amenities in both the business andwealthy residential districts. But security servicesare a booming business to protect these sectors fromthe assaults of those who have much less. Tertiaryhealth care and education are concentrated in themetropolis. But if one disaggregates primary healthservices accessible to the urban poor, they pale incomparison to those in rural areas; for example,there is one primary health unit for every 10,000people in rural areas against one for every 50,000people in the urban centers. Primary and secondaryeducation may be of a slightly higher quality incities, but the 1-to-50 teacher-pupil ratio makesbasic learning unsatisfactory. At the college level,the scene is dominated by private universities,which charge a fortune for substandard education.

Environmentaldegradation canbe seen invarious disastersthat regularlyoccur—flooding, trafficchaos, homesdestroyed bylandslides andother earthmovements,deaths ofwildlife in therivers and seas,etc.

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The seats of government, media, and the churchare situated here as well. But basic minimum needsremain unmet.

Despite respectable economic growth andthe proliferation of urban amenities, the quality oflife in Metro Manila has deteriorated. Economicgrowth that is hinged on the messiah of globalizationhas been achieved on the backs of the poor and atthe expense of the environment. Unless drastic stepsare taken, even this very model is likely todiscourage the much sought-after foreigninvestments. Inevitably, the quality of life will furtherdeteriorate and even the few who benefit from thiskind of parasitic development will end up with lessthan what they have today.

Which Actors and Factors Make or BreakCities?

No amount of dreaming can result in an alternativefuture as long as the major actors and factors thatcan make or break a city remain unchanged. In thecase of Metro Manila and other urban areas in thePhilippines, actors and factors can be categorizedinto two distinct groups: those who wield powerand those who are powerless.

Five distinct but overlapping power groups—the State, business, the dominant church, the media,and international aid agencies—although notmonolithic, share responsibility for the deterioratingquality of life in cities. The model of developmentthat underpins their actions is economicdevelopment through global competitiveness andforeign investments as the engine of growth, eventhough sustainable development, equity, and pro-poor rhetoric are ironically standard fare.

In the Philippines, the present administrationdoggedly pursues the same economic thrust asprevious governments despite a pro-poor campaignline that ushered it into power. The poor, who

Economicgrowth that ishinged on themessiah ofglobalizationhas beenachieved on thebacks of thepoor and at theexpense of theenvironment.

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overwhelmingly voted in the present administration,were buoyed by initial pronouncements. Thebusiness community and the dominant churchnervously awaited clear directions on economicpolicy, decisive leadership, and transparency in themanagement of state affairs. Media has exposedmuch of the weaknesses of the government fromthe banal to the sublime. Donor agencies balked atwhat seemed to be a partial declaration of autonomyby some economic managers of government.

But while good governance remains elusive,the economic directions seem to have settled backto the same development paradigm. In the Housingand Urban Development Department, which Iheaded for 15 months, radical changes in policywere undertaken, including

• situating shelter within a broader nationalurban policy framework;

• allocating 80 percent of public resources forhousing for the poor;

• expanding options for the lowest-incomehouseholds through efficient rental markets;

• strengthening the community mortgageprogram and cooperative housing;

• housing finance reforms;• localizing and decentralizing urban and

shelter policy with an emphasis onecological balance;

• ensuring effective participation of the poor;and

• redefining public- and private-sector rolesto ensure a better distribution ofresponsibilities and risks.

These changes were met with angry protestsfrom a portion of the business sector whose short-term interests were threatened. While most of thetop-level government decision makers as well asforeign aid agencies welcomed these policy shifts,

These changeswere met withangry protestsfrom a portionof the businesssector whoseshort-terminterests werethreatened.

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they were diffident about confronting the self-interest groups. It was more comfortable forgovernment functionaries to keep away from thefray while foreign aid agencies refused to take aproactive stance, hiding behind the convenientexcuse of "noninterference" even as they spokeabout their frustrations in private. Only a section ofthe World Bank took the bold step of immediatelysuspending negotiations for a major program onhousing. In the final analysis, the political will forchange was lacking.

Civil society—NGOs, people's organizations,academe, ideological blocs, and other voluntaryorganizations—were powerless in the face of theseattempts to protect the status quo. First, the poorcould only view the changes within the limitedperspective of their immediate needs. Second,NGOs could not keep up with the policy debates,especially those that were systemic rather thanconcrete in nature. Third, some ideological blocscould not wean themselves away from a consistentlyoppositionist stance to anything emanating fromgovernment. Fourth, academics did not seem to takevery much interest in policy vis à vis research.Finally, there was a yawning gap between civilsociety demands that were either very concrete orsupremely conceptual, and the day-to-day requisitesof change.

On a more concrete level, the case of thePasig River Rehabilitation Commission provides afurther illustration. The Pasig River is the majorwaterway of Metro Manila. It is a 27-kilometerstretch with dozens of tributaries that used to bethe center of transportation, and economic andcultural activity. The river is dead. It is the dumpingarea of domestic and industrial waste, the largestseptic tank in the country. On its banks, on stilts inthe river and underneath the bridges that traverseit, are 10,000 informal settler families. Everyadministration for the past four decades has tried to

Foreign aidagenciesrefused to takea proactivestance, hidingbehind theconvenientexcuse of"noninterference"even as theyspoke abouttheir frustrationsin private.

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revive the river; each one has failed. The presentEstrada government decided to embark on anambitious but attainable program to resurrect theriver (dredging, revetment walls, minimizing waterpollution, etc.), relocate the settlers within the ten-meter easement, restore a viable means ofalternative transportation, and create open spacesalong the banks.

The determination to achieve what othershave miserably failed to do meant creating acommission composed of Cabinet members thatwould orchestrate the entire program. Apart fromgovernment resources, Danish InternationalDevelopment Assistance and ADB provided support.A crucial element was dealing with the settlers. Pastattempts had resulted in protests; forcible, distant, andinhuman relocation; and ultimately the return ofabout 50 percent of the settlers.

Work on the Commission started in January1999. A Housing and Resettlement Group (HRG)that I personally chaired was immediately set up,which included representatives from each of theaffected local government units (LGUs) andrepresentatives from the informal settlers and theirNGO counterparts. The HRG arrived at a consensuson a framework to govern resettlement, jointlyrevalidated a 1977 family census, agreed on uniformparameters on the process of relocation, identifiedappropriate sites, scheduled each area forresettlement over a two-year period, and set up amonthly bulletin for accurate information to reacheach of the communities. Among the innovationswe introduced were

• voluntary relocation;• priority for in-city, then near-city relocation;• optional relocation sites for the

communities;• visits to sites by whole communities before

they made their decisions;

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• a graded lease-purchase scheme, starting atless than US$10 a month;

• encouragement to LGUs to keep the settlerswithin their boundaries or to contribute aset amount to the receiving LGUs if thesettlers could not be accommodated in-city;

• strong efforts to ensure that basic amenitiesand facilities—utilities, transportation,schools, health clinics, employment—werepresent in each resettlement area;

• for transparency, submission by the privatesector of already-developed potentialresettlement sites concerning which, apartfrom technical evaluations, the ultimateresident had the final decision; and

• the option for settlers to submit their ownresettlement plans.

Ten months after, despite what seemed likea slow start because of the participatory nature ofthe process, almost 2,000 families had moved intonew homes of their choice. There were medium-rise buildings along a major highway and row-houses on the periphery of Metro Manila. Relocationwas voluntary, there were no acrimonious protestsand the cost of the sites was 15 to 35 percent lowerthan market values. In one site where the schoolswere not completely in place, relocation was limitedonly to those families that could be accommodated,even if 2,000 more houses were ready foroccupancy.

Looking back, we could have done better.One major problem lay in the funds. The processingtime for ADB meant that funds would only beavailable by the year 2000. And yet PresidentEstrada demanded action based on an extremelytight time schedule. At the same time, somecommunities that wanted to ensure that they wouldget the site of their choice also wanted to movewhile the schools were still being built. In the six

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months since we resigned, there is restiveness inboth the relocated as well as the still-to-be-resettledcommunities. The HRG has been effectivelydisbanded. The poor no longer have access todecision makers. The identified sites for the PasigRiver resettlers have become areas for othercommunities that have been forcibly relocated, thepromised facilities have not been completed, andthe people no longer have a say in the sites to whichthey would be transferred.

Throughout the process, not all the problemscame from government and foreign agencies.Academe was completely absent, when it couldhave provided much needed assistance in researchand fresh insights. Some ideological blocs attemptedto derail the process by raking up all sorts of fears.But the participatory nature of the HRG ensuredthat urban poor leaders and NGOs could sufficientlycontain any disinformation because they themselveswere part of the decision-making body. Although itwas well worth it, the process was at times tediousand repetitive due to initially unreasonable demandslike on-site relocation, where the land is given forfree, and the lack of understanding of thecomplexities of resettlement.

The Challenges Ahead

A shift in our development paradigm is urgentlyneeded. No, I do not refer to earth-shakingupheavals but to the simple resurrection of theimportance of the rights of people and nature. Inour frenzy toward economic development, ourmacroeconomic policies and the short-term outlookof political decision making have strained thecarrying capacity of the earth and neglected ourcaring capacity for the rights and needs of the poor.But beyond the platitudes that regularly mark ourpublic statements, there are practical initiatives thatcan be introduced or strengthened.

The participatorynature of theHRG ensuredthat urban poorleaders andNGOs couldsufficientlycontain anydisinformationbecause theythemselves werepart of thedecision-making body.

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Most of our governments have highlycentralized systems that decide on national policies,allocations of resources, and programimplementation. Although we can all hope fornational governance that is more responsive to therights of the poor and the environment, we alsoknow that the pressures of the dominantdevelopment paradigm are also stronger at this level.The specific realities on the ground are also moredistant from national agencies, despite the presenceof local structures. Consistent with a bottom-upapproach and because of the growing complexityespecially of urban life, decentralization to the localgovernment level has the greatest potential to turnthe situation around.

Allow me to mention a few of the actionsthat local governments can immediately undertake:

• Minimum quality-of-life indicators. Socialpolicies are the visible expressions of acaring government. We can start by creatingmeasurable and verifiable parameters fornon-negotiable minimum quality-of-lifestandards for each of our cities. Indicatorsmust be formulated with the activeparticipation of civil society. Indicators thatare able to measure outcomes can serve asa social contract between local authoritiesand their constituencies because they relateto concrete action and definedaccountabilities.

• Learning from the poor. Social policy canonly be effective if decision makers drawfrom the wealth of knowledge and skills ofboth technical experts and the poor. In thefinal analysis, a participatory process is thebest guarantee for success

• Maximizing innovative initiatives. We do notneed to reinvent the wheel. There are manyuseful innovative initiatives that can be

Decentralizationto the localgovernmentlevel has thegreatestpotential to turnthe situationaround.

Social policiesare the visibleexpressions ofa caringgovernment.

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mainstreamed and further strengthened. TheSustainable Cities Program of UNCHS andThe UN Environment Programme and theCity Development Strategies of the WorldBank, although implemented in only a fewareas, have had some positive results. Variousmicroenterprise initiatives and cooperativemovements in Asia have also shown that, ifgiven the opportunity, the poor can managetheir own economic development. In thefield of health and education, many NGO-initiated programs are testimonies tosuccessful alternative interventions.

• Making the market work. In this era ofglobalization, it is naive to dream of povertyeradication without addressing the market.Business and finance have long been viewedas the antithesis of poverty. But in much thesame way as we have learned that we allshare a finite earth, business has also cometo accept the reality that massive poverty isnot good for business. The past few decadeshave seen a slowly emerging trend wheremore business conglomerates have movedfrom an almost total lack of concern tocharitable endeavors to involvement insocial issues to self-imposed quality-of-lifestandards. Governments must speed up thisdevelopment by providing the atmospherethat would encourage access of the poor tothe market.

• Focusing on newly emerging cities. If ourmegacities developed into monstrosities dueto lack of planning and plain neglect, wehave the opportunity to avoid the samemistakes in the newer cities. At the sametime, dramatic technological advances,especially in mass transit and electroniccommunication systems, make it possible tocreate centers of governance, business, and

In this era ofglobalization, itis naive todream ofpovertyeradicationwithoutaddressing themarket.

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culture that need not be congested intodefined and contiguous geographic areas. Itis, therefore, imperative that local authoritiesin newly emerging cities muster the politicalwill to anticipate the future and plan theircities beyond their terms of office.

We are fortunate to be leaders at thebeginning of a new century. We can repeat themistakes of the past or we can help to shape thefuture. I am confident that local authorities withthe effective participation of business and civilsociety can make a difference for the poor and ourenvironment. With the assistance of ADB and othermultilateral institutions, all it takes is the politicalwill to go against the grain of tradition, and thedaring to care.

XU KUANGDIMayor, Shanghai Municipal GovernmentPeople's Republic of China

Now that the 21st century is approaching, themayors of Asian cities have decided to get togetherin Shanghai to discuss the fight against urbanpoverty. This has great significance. For healthydevelopment of the economy and society in cities,we must try extremely hard to ease and ultimatelyeradicate poverty. During the last half of the century,especially since the reform and opening-up policy20 years ago, the Shanghai Government hasconsidered the improvement of the living standardsof the people in the cities as its primary goal. Ittried to address the major problems of the peopletoward one end result—that the masses will haveenough food to eat, clothes to wear, and a relativelycomfortable life.

The general designer of the reform andopening-up policies in the PRC, Mr. Deng Xiaoping,

We can repeatthe mistakes ofthe past or wecan help toshape thefuture.

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pointed out that "development is a strong agenda."Reviewing the status of Shanghai City, we notedthat continuous development has always been ourmeans of solving problems and making progress inimproving the living standard of the people. Whenthe PRC implemented the reform and opening-uppolicies in 1978, the gross domestic product (GDP)in Shanghai City was only Y59.2 billion. In 1999,the city had a GDP of Y403.5 billion. The GDP percapita is more than US$3,700. At present, the annualaverage salary of the staff and workers in ShanghaiCity is Y14,147. The average expected life span ofthe residents in Shanghai City is 78 years. Theaverage length of education per capita has reached12 years. The living area per capita is more than10 square meters.

Of course, in the process of the fastdevelopment of the urban economy, new issueshave emerged. Shanghai has long beenimplementing a planned economic system. This hasentailed transferring the old system into the newsystem of the socialist market economy. During theprocess, it has become an important task for theGovernment of Shanghai City to help thedisadvantaged people in improving their capabilityfor self-development and protecting their lives. Atthe same time, along with acceleratedimplementation of industrial structural adjustment,some surplus staff and workers in traditionalindustries and state-owned enterprises have left theiroriginal jobs. The Government and society have theresponsibility to support them to develop new skillsand find new employment.

Among the various measures that we haveadopted are the following.

Basic Living-standard Insurance System

In 1993, Shanghai established the basic living-standard insurance system to provide social support

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to residents whose families are living below thelowest standard. The Department of CivilAdministration undertakes this work. As of May2000, Shanghai City had targeted 142,408 urbanand 23,544 rural persons as beneficiaries of thesocial security system.

In 1998, administrative stations in streets andtowns were set up throughout the city in order tomake the social services accessible to the residents.These stations provide social services such asprocessing applications for insurance policies.

Toward the end of 1998, Shanghai Cityestablished a computerized city-wide network forsocial support services. The network has largelyimproved working efficiency in relief and supportingworks. At the same time, we increased the minimumliving standard from Y120 in 1993 to Y280 in 1999so that residents benefit from economicdevelopment in the city.

Unemployment Insurance System

The unemployment insurance system in Shanghaihas two functions: to protect the basic livingstandard of laid-off workers and to provide anemployment service for these workers and activelyhelp them to get new jobs. On 1 April 1999, thenewly revised "Unemployment Insurance Systemin Shanghai City" was formally implemented. Thesystem provides insurance to unemployed peoplefor a limited period only, and thus encourages themto seek employment actively. The Government hasalso strengthened its occupation guidance forunemployed people through a reemploymentservice center.

Reemployment Centers

In 1996, Shanghai City established pilotreemployment centers in the textile and electronics

Toward the endof 1998,Shanghai Cityestablished acomputerizedcity-widenetwork forsocial supportservices.

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industries. As of September 1999, there were 308such centers, with a capital of Y3.5 billion, whichcater to all the laid-off workers in the city. In 1999,the basic living allowance for laid-off workers wasincreased to Y318 per month. Today, 0.6 millionlaid-off workers can get new jobs through thereemployment service centers.

At the same time, the Government hasstrongly promoted the development of the public-benefit working organization set up to serve thepublic interests of the residents in the city,particularly to laid-off workers. At present the majoravailable positions are related to security,cleanliness, maintenance, etc. Laid-off workers cansubmit an application and the Government grantsemployment within 24 hours. These public-benefitworking organizations have been set up in everystreet in the city.

Health and Education Insurance forLow-income Groups

Since 1997, the city has given annual medical careand relief services to sick residents in urban areas.More than 10,000 people have benefited from thisservice. This year, the Government began a quarterlymedical relief and support service and extended itto poor rural families.

We provide an educational subsidy for thechildren of poor families. In 1999, Y105 million infinancial subsidies was granted to students frompoor families. About 10 percent of college studentsand 6 percent of high school students have enjoyedthis subsidy.

In 2000, we started to implement a three-year plan for increasing employment by 0.1 millionpositions each year. At the same time, we stronglypromote humanitarianism. A good tradition in thePRC is support for the weak and provision of reliefto the poor. In the market economy, we still should

Since 1997, thecity has givenannual medicalcare and reliefservices to sickresidents inurban areas.

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uphold this moral excellence. This is an importantindicator for the society to become egalitarian.

The Shanghai People's Government willcontinue to put more effort into providing acomprehensive and efficient social security systemin order to provide a more stable and harmonioussocial environment for economic development andalso to give every resident in Shanghai City betterliving conditions. Through this, we will also increasethe level and scope of people's security and enableall residents in Shanghai City, particularly thoseliving below the minimum standard, to obtain moredirect and more efficient support.

To exist and coexist is a basic right foreveryone. Our theme for this year's Forum plays avery positive role in promoting healthy socialdevelopment in Asian cities. We sincerely hope thatthrough our common efforts, more and moreresidents in Asian cities will have better lives andthat the future development of Asian urban societieswill be brighter.

DINESH MEHTACoordinator, Urban Management ProgrammeUnited Nations Centre for Human Settlements

The issue of urban poverty is particularlyimportant. Poverty has multifarious dimensionsof increasing concern to the global community.Poverty is no longer based on income. It has manyfaces, and changes from place to place and acrosstime.

Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter.Poverty is being sick and not being able to see adoctor. Poverty is not being able to go to school,not knowing how to read, not being able to speakproperly. Poverty is not having a job, fear for thefuture, living one day at a time. Poverty is losing achild to illness brought about by unclean water.

Poverty ishunger. Povertyis lack ofshelter. Povertyis being sickand not beingable to see adoctor. Povertyis not beingable to go toschool, notknowing how toread, not beingable to speakproperly...

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Above all, poverty is powerlessness, and lack ofrepresentation and freedom.

One of the challenges that the world is facingis rapid urbanization. Some 51 percent of theworld's population will be urban by 2010 andpoverty is one of the key features of this rapidurbanization. More of the 1.3 billion poor peopleare found in the cities than in the rural areas, causingincreased income disparities, marginalization of thepoor, and slums. With structural shifts in theeconomy and unequal capitalization in cities, wesee that the impact of globalization on the poor isquite adverse. We have not addressed the issues ofpoverty through our open economy and cross-border policies.

The decentralization of powers to locallevels allows many cities to take greaterresponsibility for poverty alleviation, but othercountries have not yet taken this track. I think thatit is important for cities to be empowered. It is alsoimportant to note that the key to poverty alleviationin the cities is improved governance.

In responding to poverty at the local level,we need responsive and accountable localgovernments. We need approaches that include thepoor to become an integral part of the decision-making process. We have to find ways by whichwe can empower the poor, recognize theirorganizations that exist at the community level, andengage other civil society organizations in policyadvocacy on behalf of the poor. We need strategicpartnerships with local governments and civilsocieties, and I am sure we will see or hear muchmore about partnerships in this Forum.

At UNCHS or Habitat, governance is animportant issue. We have recently launched a globalcampaign on good urban governance. Its missionis to "promote pro-poor urban governance in theworld". Its objective is to "increase the capacitiesof the local governments and other stakeholders to

Above all,poverty ispowerlessness,and lack ofrepresentationand freedom.

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practice good urban governance, raise awareness,and advocate good urban governance globally." Thecampaign aims to begin a normative debate on whatreally are the norms of good urban governance. Wewelcome your participation in this campaign aswell.

Finally, I would like to emphasize that weneed a local urban poverty reduction strategyfounded on three pillars: empowerment, security,and opportunity for the poor. This strategy willenable cities to improve equity, efficiency,productivity, and governance by providingsustainable livelihoods, safe and secure livingenvironments, and better quality of life for the urbanpoor.

ASAD A. SHAHManager, Water Supply, Urban Developmentand Housing Division (East)Asian Development Bank

Poverty reduction is now ADB's overarchingobjective and appropriate strategies are beingformulated to address the poverty challenge in acomprehensive manner.

The multidimensional nature of poverty isclearly reflected in ADB's new poverty reductionstrategy. In addition to the income/expendituredefinition of poverty, poverty can also be definedas lack of access to basic social services like basiceducation and health care, shelter, and food security.For example, in the PRC, many of the rural migrantsworking and living in cities on a long-term basisare not income poor in that their cash incomes maybe higher than the poverty line. However, officiallyregarded as temporary residents, many end up livingin substandard housing and lack health orunemployment insurance. The implication is thatif we focus on an income-based poverty line, we

We need a localurban povertyreductionstrategyfounded onthree pillars:empowerment,security, andopportunity forthe poor.

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overlook other areas of deprivation that are notcaptured by income alone but equally deserve apolicy response. Urban poverty is, therefore, acomplex subject that is difficult to understand, letalone address, accurately.

Causes and Characteristics of Urban Poverty

As urban poverty differs from country to country,the starting point must be a comprehensiveexamination of the constraints and opportunities forpoverty reduction in each country. In the PRC, theprincipal causes of rising urban poverty in the lastdecade are (i) a sharp rise in job terminations andlay-offs, especially in the government sector, whichis still by far the largest employer in urban areas;and (ii) erosion of the enterprise-based social welfaresystem and the lagged development of a "socialized"security system.

In most developing countries, the majorityof the urban poor earn their incomes in the informalsector. Many day-laborers such as in South Asianconstruction or manufacturing firms are in theinformal sector. Their incomes are relativelyunstable because they have little protection fromsickness and injury, given the unpredictable demandfor their services. The urban poor are oftendiscriminated against in the provision of governmentservices. Illegal squatter settlements are typicallynot provided with schools or health services on thesame basis as legal residents. In some developingcountries, since governments intend to eventuallyrelocate squatters to permanent and legal sites, basicservices to squatter settlements are not provided.Unfortunately, this situation has persisted for yearsbecause governments have lacked the resources orthe political will to provide permanent settlementsand access to tenure.

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Key Urban Poverty Issues

Based on our work in ADB, let me outline some ofthe key urban poverty issues.

First, in many developing countries, the poorhave been bypassed in the development process.Some major groups where poverty incidenceremains high have proved very hard to reach. Thesegroups mainly include poor people on the fringesof or outside the monetized economy; people livingin far-flung resource-poor regions; ethnic minorities;women and children; the elderly and disabled.

Second, there is excessive density of peoplein the largest cities, which have become, or are fastemerging as, megacities. This is a prominent issueas it manifests itself in terms of the highly chargedproblems of poverty and inequality, unemploymentand underemployment, inadequate infrastructureand housing, deficient social services, andenvironmental degradation. These persistent illsindicate that urban populations are growing fasterthan the economic absorptive capacity and fiscalmeans of cities and municipalities. Therecommendations emerging from a series of ADB-sponsored regional studies and seminars include

• the need for strengthening the decision-making process of municipal governmentsto enhance transparency and coordination;

• reducing waste generation and emission ofpollutants;

• making land development and land transfersmore efficient; and

• relying more on nongovernment sources offunds.

Third, governments need to develop well-targeted poverty-reduction programs. With bettertargeting, these programs could be more effectiveand less costly. Expanding and improving access of

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the poor to basic education, primary health care,and basic social services are important for povertyreduction. However, most developing countries facetwo interconnected problems in the delivery ofsocial services: (i) they need to generate moreresources in order to expand and improve the qualityof services; and (ii) public subsidies are typicallyregressive in that more subsidies accrue to thenonpoor than to the poor. Governments can raiseadditional resources through increased user fees atpublic facilities and by promoting the private sector.However, unless careful safeguards protecting theaccess by the poor to social services are establishedat the same time, both of these financing proposalscould exacerbate the existing inequalities betweenthe poor and the nonpoor.

Fourth, urbanization and the associated shiftof poverty from rural to urban areas translates intoenormous requirements for low-cost urban housingand shelter. Approaches to assist the urban poor inobtaining suitable shelter are best formulated as partof an overall medium-term housing policy program.

Fifth, attention needs to be drawn to the factthat despite economic progress, the quality of lifein many developing cities is deteriorating. For urbansustainability, effective strategies need to bedeveloped to find a balance between growth, equity,and environment. This means that local governmentcapacity has to be strengthened, so thatenvironmental considerations are integrated inurban development plans, with a focus onimproving the living conditions of the poor.

Sixth, both the Asian financial and economiccrisis and economic transition have underscored theneed for improved social protection. An enormousamount of work coupled with significant politicalcommitment is necessary for effective socialprotection measures to be put in place.

Public subsidiesare typicallyregressive inthat moresubsidies accrueto the nonpoorthan to thepoor.

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ADB's Role

Now, what can ADB do to help? Vice President Shinin his opening statement gave an overview of ADBplans and programs in fighting poverty in the Asia-Pacific region. Let me elaborate on a few points.

First, there is a need for continued economicgrowth. Economic growth in East Asia prior to thefinancial and economic crisis led to substantialreduction in poverty through increased economicopportunities; greater worker productivity andhigher wages; and increased public revenues thatcould be used for basic health care, education, andinfrastructure. There is also a need for direct poverty-reduction measures for basic infrastructure andservices together with microcredit and other directincome-generating schemes.

Second, a major challenge of urbanizationis to improve economic efficiency and productivity,while simultaneously reducing poverty andfacilitating greater equity through a comprehensivesocial development program. Well-targeted socialdevelopment is necessary in order to increaseemployment opportunities and living standards ofthe poor. Accordingly, more direct targeting of thepoor will be done by ADB with slum improvementprograms based on an integrated package of social,economic, and physical improvements.

Third, ADB is placing stronger emphasis ongovernance issues, particularly at the localgovernment level. As an example, ADB's policydialogue in water supply and wastewater projectsin the PRC has focused on corporate governanceand enterprise reform. In Indonesia, ADB's projectfor communities and local governments ispromoting decentralization and administrative andfiscal autonomy. In India, ADB projects on urbandevelopment and housing have supporteddecentralization of operations from central to stateto municipal government.

Well-targetedsocialdevelopment isnecessary inorder toincreaseemploymentopportunitiesand livingstandards of thepoor.

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Fourth, ADB's country assistance strategiesand programs will be based upon partnershipagreements, with a strong focus on povertyreduction. Such agreements have already beensigned with Mongolia and Bangladesh. In thePhilippines, a series of poverty consultations is beingundertaken to craft a national antipoverty strategyand action program to identify (i) priority initiativeswith the greatest impact for the poor; (ii) areas ofcooperation and the role of stakeholders;(iii) resources needed for these programs; and(iv) monitoring mechanisms to assess progress inpoverty reduction at national and local levels.

Fifth, ADB approved in June 2000 amicrofinance development strategy aimed atensuring permanent access to institutional financialservices for most poor people and their smallbusinesses in the Asia-Pacific region. About 95percent of the 180 million poor households in theregion still lack access to institutional financialservices. To help the poor better access microfinanceservices, ADB will support awareness-buildingprograms; disseminate information on serviceproviders; provide skills training for women, ethnicminorities and disadvantaged groups; and assistcommunity-based organizations to participate inmicrofinance projects.

Sixth, ADB will invest more in essentialservices for the poor and place more emphasis onincome generation and employment. A project forbasic urban services in Mindanao, Philippines, iscurrently at an advanced stage of preparation and afeasibility study for a project for the urban poor hasalso commenced. ADB's portfolio of water supply,wastewater, and sanitation projects has providedsubstantial benefits to the poor in many DMCs by(i) preventing increased incidence of waterbornediseases, and (ii) safeguarding the quality of drinkingwater and improving wastewater services.

About 95percent of the180 millionpoorhouseholds inthe region stilllack access toinstitutionalfinancialservices.

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Seventh, ADB is setting specific targets. Atleast 40 percent of future ADB lending will bespecifically for "poverty interventions", in which"core poverty interventions" will be specificallydesigned to address extreme poverty. These will berigorously assessed and well focused to ensure thata majority of the clinetele is below the poverty line.The balance of our public-sector lending will bechanneled to "pro-poor growth interventions." Thesewill aim to address impediments to broad-basedeconomic growth, and could also directly enhancepoverty reduction.

Eighth, through advisory technicalassistance, ADB is conducting poverty-relatedstudies in some DMCs including the PRC, Indonesia,India, Lao PDR, and the Philippines. A regional studyis being formulated to promote public-private sectorpartnerships in providing services to the urban poor.

ADB will also become more activelyinvolved in the housing sector. In Mongolia, ADBassisted the Government in preparing the HousingPolicy Law, National Housing Strategy andamendments to the condominium law and thehousing privatization law. A housing-sector financeloan is currently being developed that will focuson low-income housing. A housing finance loan hasalso been provided to India and a follow-up phaseII loan is currently under preparation.

Conclusion

Urban poverty in many Asian countries will remaina formidable challenge for years to come. It isimportant, therefore, to sharpen our understandingof the intricate dynamics of the problem and todisseminate effectively the results of analysis andresearch on the subject. The process shouldcontribute to the formulation of progressively betterpolicies and programs for poverty reduction. ADBis firmly committed to poverty reduction and we

At least 40percent offuture ADBlending will bespecifically for"povertyinterventions."

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intend to be effective and make a difference inpartnerships with government, bilateral andmultilateral agencies, and all other stakeholders.

BAMBANG SUNGKONOChairman, Regional Development Planning BoardJakarta, Indonesia

Development philosophy in any state represents theattempt to overcome poverty. However, the formof policy approaches, measures, or programs toalleviate poverty may vary according to the periodof time or the issues that arise during any particularperiod. In other words, poverty alleviation effortsshould be in line with the prevailing developmentparadigm at the time.

Between 1970 and 1995, developmentpolicy in Indonesia adopted the "trickle-down effect"paradigm. Economic growth was to be achievedby attracting large-scale investment, while equitywas expected to come through the trickle-downeffect. However, since this effect did not materializeas we had hoped, development policy from 1996took the "growth through equity" approach, focusingon measures to improve the quality of humanresources.

The Jakarta City Government's approachesto fighting poverty are based on different criteriafor determining poverty. For policymaking, thecriteria used are based on a concept devised by thenational statistical bureau. Under these criteria,residents are classified as being below the povertyline if they fail to satisfy a minimum standard ofbasic needs for food—that is, expenditure for foodbeing equivalent to 2,100 calories per capita perday—and nonfood, which is equivalent toconsumption expenditure for essential nonfoodconsumption of those who live marginally abovethe poverty line. For operational purposes, however,

Developmentpolicy from1996 took the"growth throughequity"approach,focusing onmeasures toimprove thequality ofhumanresources.

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poverty alleviation programs are based on the Pre-Prosperous Plus Family concept formulated by theNational Family Planning Coordination Board.According to their criteria, a family is categorizedas a "Pre-Prosperous Plus Family" if

• the head of the family has been maderedundant or does not have a job;

• one or more of the children has dropped outof school;

• the family cannot afford health care if afamily member is sick;

• they cannot afford to eat at least two mealsa day;

• they cannot afford to eat protein at least oncea week.

Programs have already been introduced todeal with these issues. They include a laborintensification program intended to provide jobs forthe unemployed through construction projects ormaintenance of infrastructure and public facilities,and subdistrict renewal efforts known as theKampung Improvement Program (KIP), designed toincrease small-scale economic activity within localcommunities.

To gain a better understanding of the resultsof the implementation of Jakarta's approach toalleviating poverty, the following sections describethe results prior to and during the financial andeconomic crisis.

Poverty Alleviation Programs Prior to theEconomic Crisis

Subdistrict development programs wereimplemented through the Inpres Desa Tertinggal(IDT) program, which was developed further bygovernatorial instructions, and which covered 36subdistricts; and the Community Environmental

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Grant (CEG) Program, which targeted 85 subdistrictscategorized as poor slum areas.

Characteristics of the IDT program were

• economic empowerment of poor families;• channeling of funds to communities in the

form of revolving funds;• ownership by the community groups of all

existing assets and funds in the community;and

• support by Rural Development MobilizationFacilities.

The CEG program, assisted by the WorldBank, had the following features:

• covered social, economic, andenvironmental development assistance;

• control of revolving funds by localfoundations;

• loan interest rate based on agreementbetween the local foundation andcommunity groups; and

• support by NGOs.

Fighting Poverty During the Crisis

Although poverty alleviation measures in the JakartaCapital City Administrative Region (JCCAR)achieved considerable success, the effects of thefinancial and economic crisis in Indonesia, whichbegan in mid-1997, all but rendered themmeaningless. As a city largely dependent on tertiary-sector economic activities (trade and services), theeffects of the crisis overwhelmed Jakarta. This islogical, given that tertiary-sector activities arestrongly influenced by other sectors, principally theprimary (agriculture and mining) and secondary(manufacturing) sectors. The impact reached a peak

The effects ofthe financialand economiccrisis renderedour povertyalleviationmeasures all butmeaningless.

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in 1998, when the number of poor residents reached861,000 compared with 378,000 in 1996;unemployment increased by more than one percent;and economic growth fell from 9.1 percent to -17.6percent. A follow-on effect of these conditions wasa reduction in accessibility to basic educational andhealth services.

The crisis has also made us aware thatdevelopment approaches need to be enhanced withstrategies to reinforce community institutionalempowerment. In this way, development in thefuture can be carried out by the communitiesthemselves (bottom-up), in contrast to the top-downand centralist approaches that have dominated untilrecently.

In anticipation of the impact of the crisis,several programs are being or will be implementedin four strategic phases. These are (1) rescue, from1998 to 2000; (2) recovery, from 1999 to 2001; (3)stabilization, from 2001 to 2003; and (4)development, from 2002 to 2003.

The programs implemented during therescue phase form a group known as the SocialSafety Net. In the JCCAR, this comprises

• a food security program;• labor intensification and employment-

creation programs;• social protection programs; and• economic empowerment through the

development of small and mediumenterprises.

Several initiatives have been made insupport of the Social Safety Net. Among them are

• provision of cheap rice for Pre-ProsperousPlus Families;

• provision of a food warehouse in eachdistrict within the JCCAR;

The crisis hasalso made usaware thatdevelopmentapproachesneed to beenhanced withstrategies toreinforcecommunityinstitutionalempowerment.

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• scholarships and operational fundingassistance for schools;

• scholarships and food support for streetchildren and orphanages;

• basic health and midwife services;• nutritional improvement through efforts to

ensure better nutrition for babies, children,pregnant women, and new mothers;

• training for new entrepreneurs andproductive economic institutions; and

• productive and sustainable laborintensification.

In addition to the Social Safety Net, povertyalleviation efforts in the JCCAR have also beenundertaken through a number of programs intendedto stimulate or mobilize the economic recoveryprocess. These programs are

• the Regional Empowerment for EconomicCrisis Impact Mitigation (PDM-DKE)Program, which targets 265 subdistricts andfocuses on job creation through physical andeconomic development activities, withfunding from central government loans;

• the Community-based Activities Dealingwith the Economic Crisis (CBEC) Program,focusing on 15 subdistricts categorized asvery poor slum areas; the activities aredistributed between the economic (50percent), social (20 percent), andenvironmental (30 percent) sectors; funds arefrom regional loans disbursed and monitoredby self-help organizations; and

• the Urban Poverty Alleviation (P2KP)Program, which takes in 201 subdistrictscategorized as poor slum areas.

The positive macro-effects of these initiativeshave been lowered inflation and bank interest rates

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and improvement in school attendance. However,economic growth has remained negative, and therehas been increasing unemployment and risingmalnutrition in under-5-year-old children.

Constraints

Constraints faced by the JCCAR in povertyalleviation include the fact that each responsibleagency has followed its own methods and systems.Also, due to disparate sources of funding,implementation is not well integrated despite thepresence of an integrated poverty alleviationprogram that has been in place since 1998 underthe coordination of the Office of Social and WelfareCoordinating Minister. There is as yet no realcommitment to implementing community-basedactivities among bureaucratic circles and no realfunctioning of social controls and sanctions by thecommunity. Finally, it is difficult to identifycommunity institutions that have the quality andcommitment needed to empower theircommunities.

Future Development

In the future, poverty problems will transform intohousing problems, hence constituting one of themost crucial problems. Due to expensive housingrent and land prices, many people live in small,inappropriate rooms or dwelling units.Development of an appropriate housing policy willbe a critical issue.

There is as yetno realcommitment toimplementingcommunity-based activitiesamongbureaucraticcircles and noreal functioningof socialcontrols andsanctions by thecommunity.

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LAJANA MANANDHARProgram CoordinatorLUMANTI Support Group for Shelter, Nepal

In Kathmandu Valley and Lalitpur, 70 percent ofthe population have an income of less than onedollar a day and they do not have access to basicfacilities. My work with the LUMANTI SupportGroup for Shelter enables me to interact with poorpeople, who always talk about how they canachieve security of tenure, secured living conditions,secured life and good education for their children,and an income that guarantees their survival.

LUMANTI actually means memory. It wasestablished in 1993 in memory of the lateDr. Ramesh Manandhar, the key person whoinitiated some activities for the urban poor peoplein Kathmandu. LUMANTI works directly with thepoor in about 70 communities in Kathmandu,Lalitpur, and Timi municipalities to enable them tohave safe and secured housing. We help to organizethem in different community groups (women's,children's) and strengthen these groups bypromoting horizontal exchanges for building self-confidence and capacities. The horizontal exchangeprograms are very regular, including visits by thepoor to other South Asian cities or within Nepal tosee what their colleagues have been doing toimprove their quality of life, and to share theirknowledge and learning. We map the communitiesand update the information data on their housing,living conditions, socioeconomic conditions,education, etc., so that we can share these data withgovernment and other agencies.

Our knowledge of the poverty situation helpsus negotiate with the Government when it comesto eviction cases. We promote savings schemes likehousing savings, regular savings, and savings foremergency to help people improve their financialconditions and build their communities. We always

Our knowledgeof the povertysituation helpsus negotiatewith theGovernmentwhen it comesto evictioncases.

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try to bring together the wards, municipalities, andother local governments in implementingcommunity development programs in Nepal andencourage them to invest something in thecommunities that they have neglected before. Weraise awareness among the policymakers, poorcommunities, squatters, and slum dwellers on theimportance of proper shelter by holding modelhouse exhibitions. We try to improve basic facilitieslike access to drinking water, parks, electricity,housing, and sanitation. Although these are beingdone at a very small scale in the small communities,they bring a lot of positive changes. Finally, we worktogether with the communities in planning foralternatives that will make their lives better.

We are happy to see the results of our efforts.There is now empowerment among the poorcommunities. There has been an increased level ofconfidence on security of housing, while theformation of groups and networks has improved thesolidarity among the poor. There has been improvedaccess to financial resources and basic facilities.Even the Government is slowly recognizing housingfor the poor as an issue, which has resulted in thecreation of dialogue opportunities between themand the poor.

At this juncture, I would like to highlightsome of our city consultation experiences that theUNDP/UNCHS Urban Management Programme,South Asia, initiated in Lalitpur Municipality twoyears ago. The city consultation is a joint effort ofLalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City (LSMC) and anetwork of NGOs. So far, a poverty profile of thecity has been prepared for the first time in Nepal.Different integrated pilot programs have beenexecuted in five wards. Resources were mobilizedfrom various agencies, NGOs, and the community.The Community Development Section of LSMCplayed an anchor role to sustain the process.Similarly, working groups and task force meetings

A povertyprofile of thecity has beenprepared for thefirst time inNepal.

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were organized regularly to follow up and monitorthe activities of the Urban Management Programme.This program paved the way for the localgovernment, private sector, and civil society to cometogether to address the problems of the urban poor.The program built trust, credibility, coordination,and cooperation among LSMC and the participatingorganizations. Most importantly, LalitpurMunicipality established the urban poor fund andallocated a budget for a poverty alleviation programin the municipality.

As I said in the beginning, I interact withpoor people almost everyday. Before I came here, Italked to some leaders from the poor communitiesin Kathmandu and told them that I was participatingin the Asian Mayors' Forum where we will be talkingabout fighting urban poverty. I asked them whatthey would like me to share with you on their behalf.They said they have only one request to all of you,and that is to look at the poor people in poorcommunities the way you look at your own friendsand relatives, and treat them as your friends,relatives, or partners. Although they have not beenseen as city dwellers, they have always consideredthe city as their home and can contribute inwhatever capacities they have toward buildinglivable cities, if given the chance.

Look at the poorpeople in poorcommunitiesthe way youlook at yourown friends andrelatives, andtreat them asyour friends,relatives, orpartners.

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IV. CREATING JOBS FOR

IV. THE POOR

In this session, three presentations were madedescribing experiences of poverty alleviationprograms across Asian cities.

Mr. Weng Fulin described the efforts of theFuzhou Municipal Government in keeping urbanunemployment below 2 percent, largely throughdirect interventions for employment and incomegeneration. The city is encouraging scientificresearch personnel to start their own enterprises andtrying to expand and develop regional labor marketsto promote the reemployment of laid-off workers.There is also special emphasis on the problems ofvulnerable groups. Basic living allowances areprovided to these groups to guarantee theirlivelihoods.

Ms. Jayshree Vyas presented the mechanismsdeveloped for bringing about improvements in theliving and working conditions of marginalized poor,especially women, and mainstreaming them intothe formal economy of the city. She described theactivities of Mahila Sewa Bank, a cooperative bankoriginally set up by 4,000 women who contributedRs10 each (about US$0.25) in 1974. It providesbanking services to poor illiterate women and hasbecome a viable financial venture. The mostimportant achievement of Sewa Bank, however, hasbeen the transformation it has helped bring aboutin the perception of policymakers regardingmicrofinance. She emphasized the fact that slumdwellers make a substantial contribution to citiesand have a rightful place within them. Efforts mustbe intensified, therefore, to integrate them within

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the cities in which they live, with respect toeconomic activity, service delivery systems, andsocial fabric.

Mr. Benjamin R. Quiñones Jr. gave a broadoverview of the role of microfinance institutionsacross Asia and analyzed the long-term impact ofmicrofinance initiatives on employment,production, and income. He described the evolutionof microfinance programs into their present formand the increasingly significant role being playedby micro-enterprises in creating urban employment.

The focus of discussions was on the impactof the programs described, the opportunities andconstraints, sustainability, and replicability.Interventions from the floor dwelt upon the need toencourage self-employment, and consequently therequirement for training and "re-skilling". The needfor a shift from traditional welfare-oriented creditschemes to contemporary microfinance andemployment-generation programs was alsorecognized. The common thread running throughvarious cities’ experiences with employment andincome generation is that the cities need to movefrom being providers of employment to becomingfacilitators, creating enabling environments forupgrading skills, creating opportunities, andincreasing access to investment capital.

WENG FULINMayor, Fuzhou MunicipalityPeople’s Republic of China

Solving unemployment is a common issue facedby city mayors worldwide. A new round ofunemployment always follows reform and changesof economic structure, and may be caused byvarious factors. One is industrial upgrading, whichhas deprived laborers with obsolete knowledge andskills of job opportunities. Another is the deepening

Cities need tomove frombeing providersof employmentto becomingfacilitators.

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reform of state-owned enterprises, which has madeunemployment more visible. Similarly, theincreasing number of young people of working ageis forcing the city government to create more jobopportunities.

In order to solve the unemployment problemeffectively, the Fuzhou Municipal Government(FMG) has spared no effort to promote economicgrowth and encourage foreign and localinvestments. Particular emphasis has been ondeveloping and upgrading labor-intensive industriesto create more job opportunities. Based on thedifferent requirements of job hunters, the FMG hasintegrated government guidance and the role of themarket mechanism to create more job channels;efforts were also made to achieve a balance ofsupply and demand, and promote full employment.Through arduous and painstaking work, the FMGhas kept the unemployment rate in the city below 2percent. Following are some of FMG’s ways ofeffectively tackling the unemployment problem inthe city.

Encouraging Scientific Research Personnel toStart Their Own Business

With their good knowledge and expertise, scientificresearch personnel have a great advantage in thejob market. The reasons for failing to bring theminto full play in the labor force and their temporaryunemployment may lie in the fact that they lacknecessary links and contacts with enterprises, andlack the pioneering orientation necessary to start abusiness related to their expertise.

To tackle this problem, the FMG is promotingcontact between scientists and business bysponsoring regular job fairs and establishing a talentsmarket through the Fuzhou Talents Reserve Center.The Center is responsible for examining andrecommending registered clientele. It provides such

The FMG haskept theunemploymentrate in the citybelow 2percent.

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services as free supply-demand information on thelabor market and job consultations. Theestablishment of this Center ensures that scientistshave enough time to find a job tailored to theirexpertise. FMG also provides a monthly livingallowance to graduates for up to one year and adormitory financed from the local budget.

The FMG also encourages scientists to starttheir own business by giving them preferentialtreatment in business and tax registration. Enterprisesset up by scientists in line with the industrial policyof the city are given further support, such as byreduction in loan interest.

The city government provides financial aidfor high-tech projects developed by scientists, asubsidy of up to 60 percent of needed funds, as longas the projects are examined and affirmed by thelocal scientific and technological administration.

Reemployment of Laid-off Workers

Throughout the PRC, state-owned enterprises arecurrently experiencing strategic adjustment andrestructuring. The radical changes involved bringcommensurate increase in numbers of laid-offworkers. To solve this problem, the FMG initiatedin 1994 a project of reemploying laid-off workersand has encouraged government at various levelsand the entire community to promote and take partin this project.

First, the FMG has actively promoted theestablishment of a labor market and a reemploymentservice network. In addition, job fairs and jobinformation briefings are held to providereemployment opportunities.

Second, the FMG has encouraged laid-offworkers to work in the foreign and private sectors,rather than relying on state-owned enterprises. Thecommunity service and other tertiary industries havebeen greatly developed so that some laid-off workers

FMG provides amonthly livingallowance tograduates for upto one year.

FMG hasactivelypromoted theestablishmentof a labormarket and areemploymentservice network.

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have become street cleaners, green-spaceprotectors, guards for households, and guardians ofchildren going to and from school.

Third, the FMG has encouraged laid-offworkers to start their own business by giving thempreferential treatment and policies for securing apermit to enter the market, applying for certificateand license, paying less taxes and charges, etc. FMGhas also provided services to them in various fieldsincluding information exchange, technologicalsupport, administration guidance, and financing. Arelaxed and better environment for laid-off workersto start their own business has been formed and asituation of "the employed help the unemployed"has become normal in Fuzhou City.

The Newly Emerged Urban Labor Force

The population in the baby boom of the 1960s and1970s has reached or is reaching employment agenow. The FMG has made great efforts to mitigatethe resulting employment pressure in different ways.School education has been prolonged. The FMGhas popularized junior middle-school education,developed specialized vocational middle-schooleducation, and supported universities in Fuzhou Cityto expand their enrolment. Also, courses in schoolshave been regulated. FMG requires middle schoolsat municipal level to make a strict marketinvestigation before offering enrolment.

The education administration regularlyissues predictions on employment status andprovides guidance for setting up departments,majors, and courses in schools to ensure that thecourses meet the market demands. Consequently,the employment rate for the past four years has beenhigher than 90 percent. Further, schools havestrengthened teaching in professional skills that willenable students to improve their abilities to becomeself-employed. For students unable to study at

FMG requiresmiddle schoolsat municipallevel to make astrict marketinvestigationbefore offeringenrolment.

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universities, the middle schools have set upprofessional skill-learning teams and have enhancedtraining through course design and probation, sothat students can find jobs that match their hobbiesand skills.

Living Allowances for Laid-off Workers, theRetired and Other Vulnerable Groups

It is extremely difficult to tackle the unemploymentof vulnerable groups such as old-aged or disabledpeople and those without technical skills. For them,the FMG established in 1999 a social relief system,in which three types of guaranteed basic allowancesare provided, covering respectively, pensioninsurance, basic living allowances for laid-offworkers, and minimum subsistence allowances forresidents and the unemployed. In this way, the needsof vulnerable groups in the city are guaranteed.

JAYSHREE VYASManaging DirectorMahila Sewa Sahakari Bank Ltd.Ahmedabad, India

Like many other cities in the world today,Ahmedabad has been a victim of the problems ofrapid urbanization and overpopulation. In addition,Ahmedabad is facing a serious problem of increasingunemployment because of the closure of a largenumber of textile mills in the city over the last twodecades.

About 1.2 million, or 42% of the totalpopulation are poor. They live mainly in informal,often illegal, settlement clusters and are engaged inpetty vending, home-based activities or manuallabor services. A recent report on Ahmedabad Cityhas found the population within these informalsettlements to be growing faster than the overall

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population. In general, they are unorganized,invisible, marginalized, exploited by traders andmoneylenders, have very low bargaining power, nosocial security protection, and are very vulnerable.

Participation in the Urban Economy

However, what municipalities and governmentsoften forget to consider is the contribution of informalresidents to the city’s economy. A recent survey bythe Gujarat Institute of Development Researchshowed that despite rapid industrial development,the informal sector continues to dominate the urbaneconomy. The study revealed that in 1997-98, theinformal sector accounted for 77 percent of totalemployment and 46 percent of the income generatedin Ahmedabad. Although the economic contributionof the poor is enormous, they do not receivecommensurate civic facilities as do the nonpoor.Most often, they are bypassed from participating incity planning and management activities.

The Self-employed Women’s Association(SEWA) Trade Union

The Self-employed Women’s Association (SEWA)decided to form a trade union of poor, urban womenworkers, who are significant and active contributorsto the city economy, to reclaim their rightful placein the economy and in the city. The trade union,registered in 1972, was aimed at mainstreaming themarginalized poor into the formal economy of thecity. The approach of SEWA includes

• capital formation at the microlevel to ownassets;

• capacity formation to stand firm inincreasingly competitive markets;

• access to social security to combat thechronic problems arising from inadequate

Whatmunicipalitiesandgovernmentsoften forget toconsider is thecontribution ofinformalresidents to thecity’s economy.

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child care, health care, shelter, and insurancefacilities; and

• building collective and organized strengthto negotiate, participate, and represent theirown interests at various levels of thepolicymaking processes.

SEWA has been helping its 220,000members to form their own organizations. Theseorganizations exist for the benefit of the self-employed women members of SEWA, are ownedand democratically managed by self-employedwomen, and aimed at self-reliance of women—bothfinancially and managerially. Over the last 28 years,SEWA has been instrumental in bringing aboutnotable improvements in the living and workingconditions of ready-made garment workers, bidi-rollers (cigarette rollers), vegetable vendors, waste-paper pickers, and home-based workers.

For instance, through organizing andcollective bargaining, the wages of the ready-madegarment workers have been included in theminimum wages schedule of the GujaratGovernment. The bidi-rollers have been recognizedby the Government as legitimate workers, and issuedidentification cards. They have become entitled tominimum wages and are provided with direct accessto scholarship schemes for their children. Thevegetable vendors have been recognized by theSupreme Court of India, and accorded with the rightto work and a space in which to work. TheGovernment also supported the waste-paper pickersby giving them the right to collect waste paper fromgovernment offices, while the home-based workerswere granted full rights as workers by virtue of anInternational Labour Organisation declaration.

SEWA has beenhelping its220,000members toform their ownorganizations.

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The Mahila Sewa Bank

The members of SEWA Union were caught in thevicious circle of poverty due to lack of capital, lowincome, indebtedness, and lack of assets. Becauseof lack of financial support from formal financialinstitutions, they had to borrow from moneylendersat very exploitative rates. Thus, these womendecided in 1974 to form their own financialinstitution, which is not exploitative, uses a suitablemechanism, and treats them with respect. Around4,000 women contributed Rs10 each (aroundUS$0.25) to form the Mahila Sewa Bank. It wasregistered as an urban bank under the dual controlof the Reserve Bank of India and the GujaratGovernment. It provides banking services to poorilliterate women and has become a viable financialventure.

Twenty-five years ago, women who did nothave the confidence to give their correct names tobankers because they were considered"nonbankable", today sit on the Board of the Bank,take important policy decisions, and monitor andreview its performance. To date

• 125,000 poor women of Ahmedabad Cityare saving regularly and have built collectivesavings of Rs250 million;

• 30,000 poor women have borrowed forbusiness capital, buying trade equipment,exporting goods, improving or buyinghouses, etc. for a total disbursement of Rs350million; and

• total cash turnover by all such poor womenis Rs200 million.

Nearly half of Sewa Bank’s loans have beenprovided to wives of laid-off textile workers so theycould start their own business.

Women whodid not have theconfidence togive theircorrect namesto bankers...today sit on theBoard of theBank.

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I remember quite clearly that when weregistered as a bank we were advised by many thata bank owned by and catering to the credit needsof poor women was a "suicidal venture." Today, dueto sustained efforts of the Sewa Bank, the perceptionof policymakers regarding microfinance has alsochanged. The Central Bank of India has declared apolicy of mainstreaming microfinance activities inthe country. Many of the microfinance institutionsare linked with formal banks under governmentprograms.

Sewa Bank has also been very active inproviding housing finance to women living inkuccha (mud) houses without collateral, throughsimple procedures and door-to-door service. Suchinputs help, especially the home-based workers, toincrease their productivity and income, bargainingpower, volume of business, savings in recurringexpenses, and working hours. Better housing andworking conditions enable them to improve thequality of their product, own assets, and ultimatelyprovide sustainable employment not only forthemselves, but for others as well.

Slum Improvement

Sewa Bank has been an integral partner of the slumimprovement program called Parivartan, meaningtransformation, which is being implemented by theAhmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).

The Parivartan scheme transforms thephysical habitat of informal-sector workers byproviding internal paved roads, individual toilets,water supply, sewerage connection, stormwaterdrainage, street lighting, and solid wastemanagement/landscaping. These services areprovided on an equitable cost-sharing basis, whichrequires residents to deposit a minimum of Rs500(approximately US$12) before AMC undertakes thephysical work. However, community members were

Sewa Bank hasalso been veryactive inprovidinghousing financeto women livingin kuccha (mud)houses withoutcollateral.

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hesitant to hand over their money until they sawactual results. The Sewa Bank not only providesfinancial and credit-related services in the program,but also serves as a trusted financial intermediaryfor Parivartan, playing the dual role of centralizedcash collector prior to hand-over to the AMC, andproviding credit to meet individual contributionswhere required.

Sewa Bank’s other sister organization, MahilaHousing Trust (MHT), which provides technicalassistance for housing services, is also a partner inthe Parivartan process. MHT motivates thecommunities to participate in the process andfacilitates the formation of registered communityassociations to represent the interests of residentsand help them in building direct links with themunicipality. MHT also builds the capacity ofcommunities to elect leaders, register and run theirown associations, and provide better health andchild care; and trains them in other skills so theyare able to maintain effectively the newly acquiredinfrastructure. There are 20 areas currently underthe Parivartan process, covering approximately5,000 families.

Insurance

Our working experience made us realize that theeconomic life of the poor is frequently disturbeddue to sickness, accidents, maternity, death of familymembers, flood, riots, cyclones, and othercontingencies. In the formal sector, they would havebeen covered/protected by social security schemes.With the objective of helping them during thesecrises and ensuring that their capital formationprocess is not hindered, SEWA linked its memberswith insurance companies and started providingintegrated insurance service in 1991.

We also realized the benefit of preventiveaction. For instance, while analyzing health

The Sewa Banknot onlyprovidesfinancial andcredit-relatedservices in theprogram, butalso serves as atrusted financialintermediary.

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insurance claims, we found out that some illnesseswere caused by drinking water within onegeographical area. Our linkage with the municipalcorporation helped us in rectifying the problem andin reducing sickness. Similarly, damage to mudhouses formed the highest number of claims duringfloods. We designed a special housing loan schemenamed Pakki Bhint i.e. "cement walls", forconverting mud houses into cement houses.

Other Support Services

Health Care: The SEWA health cooperative runsa central drug store in the city, which is recognizedby the municipal corporation as a distribution centerfor low-cost, generic life-saving drugs. The cityhealth care system and the poor health care clientsare linked up and teams of barefoot doctors,midwives, and community health workers aretrained and managed by SEWA’s health cooperativeto extend basic health care to 60,000 familiesannually.

Child Care: Around 50 child care centers inAhmedabad City are run by SEWA’s child carecooperative, which is providing education as wellas nutrition to the children of poor families.

Design and Marketing Support: SEWA is conductingmarket research and preparing designs for individualmembers, groups, and women’s cooperatives thatare promoted by SEWA. It also conducts exhibitionsand seminars on marketing.

Training: Leadership, managerial, and skills trainingare provided by the SEWA Academy, SEWA’straining unit.

SEWA’schild carecooperative isprovidingeducation aswell as nutritionto the childrenof poor families.

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BENJAMIN R. QUIÑONES, JR.Programme CoordinatorAsian and Pacific Development Centre, Malaysia

The traditional concept of credit for povertyalleviation has a strong welfare orientation. Thisapproach has not been very effective in making poorpeople bankable. It failed to provide credit accessfor a significant number of poor households.Financing institutions hardly recovered their costsfrom operating revenues because interest rateceilings prevented them from charging market rates.Credit discipline deteriorated as the outreach ofgovernment-supported credit programs increased inthe initial years, then lost momentum, andeventually sank under the weight of loan arrears.

The welfare-oriented approach also failedto strengthen people’s organizations. Rather,dependency on government handouts weakenedmany cooperatives by spawning corruption,mismanagement, and inefficiency. Most of thosethat survived were taken over by local elite whoredirected the flow of subsidized credit to themselves.

Successful microfinance programs of the1990s drew valuable lessons from the mistakes ofwelfare-oriented credit to the poor and tookmeasures to avoid them. Two fundamental measuresadopted by contemporary microfinance programsare worth mentioning. The first is the design of theinstitutional delivery mechanism with a cost-effective instrument for targeting the poor, whichshould comprise

• an instrument for defining, characterizing,or identifying poor households, e.g. ahousing index;

• an organizational structure for cost-effectivedelivery of financial products and services,e.g. self-help groups, group centers;

Dependency ongovernmenthandoutsweakenedmanycooperatives byspawningcorruption,mismanagement,andinefficiency.

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• financial products and services suited to theneeds of poor households, e.g. progressivelyincreasing loan size, payable on a weeklybasis; and

• capable staff committed to poverty-orientedlending.

The second measure is the design of theterms and conditions of the financial service thatenable an institution to recover operating costs fromoperating revenues. This involves

• setting interest rates on loans such that theycover the cost of funds, the administrativeand operating expenses, and losses arisingfrom loan defaults;

• avoiding recruiting expensive staff when jobscan be done by less expensive workers;

• instilling credit discipline in order to achievea repayment rate of at least 95 percent;

• embarking on savings mobilization as earlyas possible to reduce dependence onexternal donor agencies, and to buildinstitutional capacity for self-reliance; and

• establishing an appropriate legal personalityof the organization to deal with the poor.

Impact of Credit on the Poor

There is widespread belief that credit used inproductive activities contributes directly to anincrease in output, income, and employment. It isfor this reason that policymakers in many developingcountries have anchored their poverty alleviationprograms on the provision of credit resources to thepoor.

If indeed it can be shown empirically thatcredit directly increases output, income, andemployment, then the impact of credit on the poorcan be inferred from the breadth and depth of

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outreach of microfinance institutions (MFIs). Thebreadth of outreach refers to the number ofcustomers and the amount of financial services,particularly the number of depositors and borrowersand the amounts of deposits and loans outstanding.The depth of outreach is the extent to which lower-income segments of the population have access tofinancial institutions and their services.

A survey by the World Bank’s SustainableBanking for the Poor (SBP) Program in September1995 of around 1,000 MFIs in 101 developingcountries reported a combined outreach of 46million active savings deposit accounts and 14million active loans. Around 80 percent of MFIoutreach in the SBP survey was in Asia, 15 percentin Latin America, and the balance in Africa.

Very few MFIs can boast of client numbersin excess of 100,000, and most of these MFIs arefound in Asia. Table IV.1 summarizes the outreachfigures provided by 92 MFIs in Asia and the Pacificgenerated in a 1996 survey by the Asian and PacificDevelopment Centre (APDC) Bank Poor ’96Programme. Their combined outreach in 1996 was26.28 million individual clients. Excluding theGrameen Bank and other big MFIs of Bangladeshand Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), the average MFIin Asia had less than 3,000 clients. On average, eachclient received US$28 in loans and deposited US$9.

From these figures, one can deduce theemployment impact of microfinance. As creditenables a household to operate an income-generating project, a microcredit program thatallows continuing access to credit resources actuallysustains self-employment of the householdmembers. Assuming an average household has 3 to4 working members engaged in the householdenterprise, the microfinance programs of the 92 MFIssurveyed by APDC would benefit between 78 to104 million self-employed individuals in the Asia-Pacific region.

The averageMFI in Asia hadless than 3,000clients. Onaverage, eachclient receivedUS$28 in loansand depositedUS$9.

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In terms of the depth of outreach, the vastmajority of the clients of MFIs in Asia can beclassified as income-poor, or those whose incomesfall below the national poverty line as defined bytheir respective countries. An exception is Sri Lanka,where MFIs tend to cater more to households thatare not poor than with those that fall below thepoverty line.

But does microfinance actually createemployment? An analysis of large MFIs in severalcountries showed that the impact of credit onemployment was directly related to the volume of

Table IV.1. Outreach of MFIs in Asia-Pacific Countries,by Number of Clients and Activity, 1996

No. of No. of Total Value of Average Size, Average Size,MFIs* Clients Loan Portfolio Loans Disbursed Deposits

Country Reporting (million) (US$ million) (US$) (US$)

Bangladesh 10 5.74 218.23 38.0 10.1

PRC 5 0.08 0.93 11.2 0.2

India 15 2.49 6.87 2.8 2.9

Indonesia 3 16.75** 2.03 612.0 180.0

Malaysia 6 0.08 11.80 149.7 85.0

Nepal 9 0.06 1.80 31.0 4.8

Pakistan 6 0.34 6.20 18.3 24.4

Philippines 16 0.04 7.98 191.6 30.7

Sri Lanka 7 0.33 4.90 14.8 10.3

Thailand 3 0.30 2.25 7.4 0.6

South Pacific 3 0.01 0.35 46.7 53.3

All Asia-Pacific 92 26.28 269.17 28.0*** 9.0***

* Includes only those reporting to APDC Bank Poor ’96 survey.** Composed of 2.3 million credit accounts and 14.5 million deposit accounts.

*** Excludes Indonesia. Including Indonesia, the figures are US$225.3 and US$112.3, respectively.

Source: Getubig, Remenyi and Quiñones. 1997. Creating the Vision: Microfinancing the Poor inAsia-Pacific. Kuala Lumpur: APDC. Table 6, p. 44-5, supplemented with data supplied to APDCby Bank Rakyat Indonesia for Indonesia.

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investments in new technology employed by thehouseholds in their enterprise. Compared to acontrol sample of nonborrowers, the borrowers withthe highest income growth had highest rates ofinvestment in technology and of hiring familymembers. However, the difference in employmentbetween borrowers and the nonborrowers was lessthan one person on average. Amongst the big MFIs,only the BRI unit desa scheme, which caters tobusinesses larger than the sample average, recordedemployment increases larger than this (i.e. 5.8persons). Significant hiring of nonfamily memberswas carried out only by larger enterprises.

Conclusions

These findings indicate that borrowers from thepoorer sections of society tend to give priority tohousehold survival needs over enterprisedevelopment. Thus, when credit programs do notprovide a facility to address consumption oremergency needs, available cash will always beused to meet those needs rather than to purchasenew technology or to gain access to training or tomarkets. Nevertheless, credit for microenterprisescan be an effective instrument for creating jobs forthe poor because microenterprises are laborintensive. They use less capital, which implies amore efficient use of the scarce factor of production.

It is important that microfinance programssupported by local governments are designed toreach significant numbers of poor households. Toomany development-oriented projects initiated as"pilot" projects disappear after the project period.For sustainability, both the operations of the MFIand the enterprises financed have to be profitable.It is also important that the partner MFI has financialproducts suited to both the household consumptionand enterprise development needs of the poor.

The differencein employmentbetweenborrowersand thenonborrowerswas less thanone person onaverage.

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MFIs that have been operating for aconsiderably long period of time have developedfinancial products that enable the poor to purchasea specified technology, such as minor irrigationequipment, motorized sewing machine, solar panelsfor drying agricultural products, or even cell phones.By making these technology-oriented financialproducts available to poor households, the MFIexpands its portfolio while contributing to anincrease in the poor household’s productionpossibilities. Providing capacity-building support toMFIs for the development of technology-orientedfinancial products is probably the most importantcontribution that local governments can provide forthe institutional development of MFIs in theirconstituencies.

Finally, local governments should provide apolicy environment that is conducive to MFIs.Supporting subsidized credit programs implementedby local government personnel or by othergovernment line agencies will do great harm to thefinancial viability and sustainability of MFIs.

Providingcapacity-building supportto MFIs for thedevelopment oftechnology-orientedfinancialproducts isprobably themost importantcontributionthat localgovernmentscan provide.

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Poor No More: Reducing Poverty through Partnerships

V. POOR NO MORE: REDUCING

V. POVERTY THROUGH

V. PARTNERSHIPS

This session comprised a specific case studyof Colombo and a review of a range ofpoverty-reduction initiatives and experiences

across Asia.The point that poverty can be substantially

and effectively reduced only through partnershipsamong various stakeholder groups—the localgovernment, private business sector, civil society,and indeed, the poor communities themselves—wasreinforced by the presentation on the initiatives ofthe City of Colombo. The Mayor of Colombo, Mr.Omar Kamil, outlined briefly the urbanization anddevelopment scenario in Sri Lanka and went on todescribe the initiatives of the city of Colombo inreducing poverty.

Most of the under-served settlements havebeen encouraged to form community-basedorganizations called community developmentcouncils. The community leaders are encouragedto meet council staff weekly to obtain attention onthe services required. Mr. Kamil described a programwherein Rs1.5 million has been made available toeach of the 53 elected councilors for provision ofservices in under-served settlements.

Dr. Mary Racelis gave an in-depth overviewof poverty reduction initiatives in Asian cities. Sheunderscored and illustrated the fact that involvementof urban poor people in the process of consultationfor development decision making is a time-testedmeasure to enhance the appropriateness andsustainability of any actions. It is imperative,

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therefore, to strengthen mechanisms for on-going,systematic consultations with the urban poor,NGOs, and other civil society supporters. Sheemphasized that local and national governmentsmust perceive and treat the urban poor as citizensdeserving support and dignified treatment, in orderto be able to tap their initiatives effectively anddevelop win-win solutions to problems of urbanpoverty.

Examples from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, andthe Philippines, in particular, highlighted that forpoverty alleviation efforts to succeed, there mustbe a shift in traditional bureaucratic approaches tocontemporary management orientation. The onusof initiating and building partnerships lies mostdefinitely with city governments. The city leadershipmust have a clearly articulated vision, well-definedgoals, and a willingness to engage stakeholders ina "dialogue for development."

OMAR Z. KAMILMayor, Colombo, Sri Lanka

The City of Colombo is the financial and commercialcenter of Sri Lanka, probably because the port ofColombo for the last one or two centuries served asthe hub of the import-export economy of thecountry. Colombo is a coastal town, 37.25 squarekilometers in extent. It has a resident population ofnearly 1 million people and a daily transientpopulation of 500,000, who commute forcommercial, educational, and other purposes.

The Colombo Municipal Council, ademocratically elected body, is entrusted with thetask of local administration, and is not only theoldest local authority in Sri Lanka but also one ofthe oldest in South Asia.

Local andnationalgovernmentsmust perceiveand treat theurban poor ascitizensdeservingsupport anddignifiedtreatment.

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Colombo and Poverty Reduction Efforts

Colombo has launched a number of povertyreduction exercises in which the participatoryapproach has been of focal importance. About400,000 residents live in settlements whose identityis marked by inadequate services and small plot size,although this group enjoys a reasonable incomethrough various means.

As a means of mobilizing communityinterest, most of these settlements have beenencouraged to form community-based organizationscalled community development councils (CDCs).The community leaders are encouraged to meetcouncil staff weekly to obtain attention on theservices required. The mayor presides over monthlymeetings in the Town Hall to discuss developmentneeds and every Wednesday, the mayor, thecommissioner, heads of departments, and otherofficers are available at one location to bringconcerted attention on the multidimensionalproblems of the community members.

Some of the large-scale development effortslaunched in the city failed to recognize and respondto the smaller-scale problems of the community inthe settlements. In order to provide and improvebasic services for them, the council has now madeavailable Rs1.5 million to each of the 53 electedcouncilors. They can now identify projects in low-income areas, which are not necessarily vested ascouncil property, to provide facilities such asdrinking water, sewerage connections, toilets,paving of roads with concrete slabs, metalling ofroads, electrical lighting for common areas, andmany others. By 1999, 627 projects had beenimplemented under this scheme and by the end of2000 the number should exceed 1,000.

The Council also undertakes welfaremeasures aimed at major identified public healthissues. The following welfare measures are provided

Most of thesesettlementshave beenencouraged toformcommunity-basedorganizationscalledcommunitydevelopmentcouncils.

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until such time that the settlements have adequateessential infrastructure:

• free western medicine dispensaries;• free ayurvedic dispensaries;• free maternity homes;• free community centers;• subsidized reception halls; and• free midday meals for children attending

religious schools.

Other projects are undertaken to provide thepoor with better chances for social mobility,including sewing training centers, educationalcounseling, career guidance, preschools, day-carecenters, study halls, information technologyfacilities, and a free library service.

Conclusion

Poverty in Colombo has numerous facets thatcontinually change due to social, political, andfinancial reasons. A major gap in the system toreduce poverty has been the lack of mechanisms toidentify and respond to needs. The informal sectorhas to be recognized as an important part of thepopulation and incorporated into the mainstreamof the economy and culture. The barriers toeducation, entertainment, asset ownership, andother fields should be opened to them.

MARY RACELISDirector, Institute of Philippine CultureAteneo de Manila University

Those closest to the problem are best able to offerworkable solutions. This adage has by now becomewidely accepted in social change circles,corresponding as it does to the principle of people’s

A major gap inthe system toreduce povertyhas been thelack ofmechanisms toidentify andrespond toneeds.

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participation in decision making. If poverty is to beovercome, the voices of Asia’s urban poor, whomake up one third to more than one half ofmetropolitan populations, need to be heardsystematically on policy formulation, planning,implementation, and evaluation of governmentactions impinging on their lives.

These assertions highlight several basicfeatures of good governance—accountability,transparency, efficiency, and equity throughparticipation. Moreover, the involvement of urbanpoor citizens in governance enhances thesustainability of any agreed-upon actions to improvetheir lot. As distinguished urban specialists, DavidSatterthwaite and the late Jorge Hardoy, haveemphasized, "The most important resource for thefuture city is the knowledge, ingenuity andorganizational capacity of citizens themselves." 1

Government and private-sector leadersaiming at overcoming poverty in their cities,therefore, are well advised to strengthen mechanismsfor ongoing, systematic consultations with the urbanpoor and their supporters among NGOs and othercivil society groups. This does not mean that poorpeople’s views must prevail under any and allcircumstances. Rather it implies that governmententities are responsible for leveling the playing fieldand encouraging disadvantaged communities tonegotiate as peers around their own interests. In thatway, they stand a chance of gaining their fair shareof assets, information, and a decent life.

Reinforcing Multisectoral Partnerships inMegacities

But how do urban governments in rapidly growingmetropolitan regions develop principled

1 Anon. 1997. Asia-Pacific (AP) 2000, Cities and Citizens; the AP2000 Experience. Manila: Inter Press Service, Asia-Pacific.

Governmentand private-sector leaders...are well advisedto strengthenmechanisms forongoing,systematicconsultationswith the urbanpoor.

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partnerships with the most disadvantaged groups ofpoor people? How can community-level interactionbetween government and people take place in thecontext of megacity settings? It is appropriate to recallhere the famous adage, "A journey of a thousandmiles begins with the first step." One must resolutelyresist the temptation to find the scale of the problemso daunting as to invite a kind of paralysis or inertia.Rather, one simply takes the first step. This meansgovernment officials periodically meeting face-to-face with a range of poor men and women in theirneighborhoods, since vulnerable groups feel mostat ease in their home turf.

This sets the stage for building andstrengthening community initiatives. Governmentofficials need not, indeed should not, offer anythinginitially, but simply listen and learn. This crucialprocess is followed by developing in an interactiveway government responses that take people’sconcerns seriously, that produce results closelyadhering to the constituents’ wishes, and that buildthese processes into mega-urban administrativesystems.

Fortunately, the late-20th century providedample evidence of urban poor communities in Asiancities with an already sound track-record forundertaking self-help activities. These may havedeveloped under their own aegis, throughpartnerships with community-based NGOs or,occasionally, academic groups, or alternatively, withenlightened government entities. Whatever the case,successful partnerships take time and a good dealof interaction before reaching levels of genuine trustand collaboration. What often starts out as acontentious relationship, fuelled by suspicion,distrust, and frustration on all sides, can—throughgood will, exploratory actions, and flexibility—turninto fruitful partnerships. Citizens satisfied with theirgovernment’s performance offer proof that the latteris doing things right.

Successfulpartnershipstake time and agood deal ofinteractionbefore reachinglevels ofgenuine trustandcollaboration.

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To overcome poverty in Asian cities, mayorsneed to center their attention and resources firmlyon the poor. When poverty is defined as the lack ofsomething, like housing, credit, water, andsanitation, governments tend to initiate welfareprograms of service delivery that provide basicincome or food, and enhance access to services,credit, shelter, and skills. Efficient bureaucraciesoffer simple and clear objectives, identify the poor,and focus on their needs with some precision, andcreate exclusive delivery systems targeting theneediest.

If, however, poverty is seen in its broadermultidimensional aspects of powerlessness anddeprivation, people empowerment sets the termsfor service delivery. In this case, NGOs usually takethe lead in helping people learn how to articulatetheir views, decide on and take the requisite actions,and gain a sense of control over their future. Theyorganize people’s involvement in the planning,implementation, and monitoring of the program, andwork toward its sustainability. This experienceincreases poor people’s capacities to tackle localproblems in increasingly sophisticated ways asissues grow in complexity2.

People’s participation in urban povertyalleviation covers a wide range of community-basedactivities in Asia, some in partnership withgovernment. They include construction of housing;upgrading of local infrastructure for water; sewerage,drainage systems, and roads; and periodicallymobilizing for community clean-ups. Local poorgroups have organized ways to counteract illnessamong their infants and children throughimmunization campaigns; improve nutrition, healtheducation, and early child development; and

2 Shubert, Clarence. 1996. Overview. In Building Partnerships forUrban Poverty Alleviation; Community-Based Programmes in Asia,edited by Clarence Shubert. Bangkok: United Nations Centre forHuman Settlements Urban Management Programme. p.1-22.

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mosquito spraying during dengue outbreaks. Theyhave warded off threats to safety and well-being,like child abuse, idleness, and drug-experimentationamong out-of-school youth; violence againstwomen; alcoholism and joblessness among men;and depression, deteriorating health, and a decliningsense of self-worth among older persons.

Together they have accumulated immensereservoirs of social capital by building chapels,temples or shrines; sharing assets, skills, and contactswith powerful people; setting up savings clubs;organizing participation in the festivals that renewfamily and community bonds; engaging inreciprocal favors like borrowing and lending money,food, chairs, and eating or cooking instruments;accompanying a friend to the police station to bailout a drunken husband; assisting neighbors duringbirths, marriages, homecomings, and deaths; settlingfights and other community conflicts; and buildingup their collective firefighting and policingcapabilities. The intensity of interaction in urbanpoor settlements generates communication links thatinform households of impending evictions, landacquisition opportunities, job openings, the arrivalof important people, and impending governmentplans for the settlement, especially if they posethreats like demolition and eviction.

Governments that recognize the importanceof community bonds and build on their strengthsare most likely to nurture effective and lastingpeople-NGO-government partnerships. Theadvantages of these links lie in the "ownership" andready implementation by community residents ofprograms aimed at transforming them into income-earning families with satisfactory levels of living andenhanced well-being. In the process, their sense ofcommitment to the broader concept of communityencourages them to work out ways of voluntarilykeeping public spaces clean, attractive, and danger-free; seeing to the upkeep of local infrastructure like

Governmentsthat recognizethe importanceof communitybonds and buildon theirstrengths aremost likely tonurture effectiveand lastingpeople-NGO-governmentpartnerships.

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footpaths, meeting centers, public latrines, drainagecanals, and garbage disposal systems; and helpingchildless older people survive.

Learning from People and NGOs

Asia offers abundant examples of community-initiated and -sustained self-help activities and,fortunately, more and more instances ofgovernments willing to back these efforts. They setthe tone for "the informal city," a concept thatemphasizes the dominance of informal-sectoractivities that serve not only poor people andcommunities but Asian cities as a whole. Theeconomically better-off formal sector could notoperate without the wide range of cheap productsmanufactured in small slum establishments, therecycling of goods through an extensive second-and third-hand market, and the availability ofservices ranging from domestic help to constructionlabor, from small-scale transport to street vendorsand their wide array of products conveniently andcheaply furnished3. The informal city in which poormen and women live is the context in whichstakeholder partnerships flourish. A few examplesillustrate this point.

Focusing on the poor and enabling them tobecome poverty-free by 2005 drives the GrameenTrust’s goals for two thirds of its estimated 3 millionmember-borrowers in over 26 countries. This largeBangladesh NGO knows from experience thatutilizing people’s own criteria for success in povertyreduction results in programs most useful to them.

3 Hasan, Arif. 1999. A Case Study of the Urban Basic ServicesProgramme in Sukkur, Sindh Province, Pakistan. In BuildingPartnerships for Urban Poverty Alleviation; Community BasedProgrammes in Asia, edited by Clarence Shubert. Bangkok: UnitedNations Centre for Human Settlements Urban ManagementProgramme. p.93-126.

The economicallybetter-off formalsector could notoperate withoutthe wide rangeof cheapproductsmanufacturedin small slumestablishments.

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A group of poor Bangladeshis worked out their 10criteria for a poverty-free life in this way4:

• a tin-roofed house;• beds or cots for all family members;• access to safe drinking water;• access to a sanitary latrine;• school attendance by all school-aged

children;• sufficient warm clothing for the winter;• mosquito nets;• a home vegetable garden;• no food shortage even during the most

difficult time of a very difficult year; and• sufficient income-earning opportunities for

all adult members of the family.

In India, an alliance involving the Societyfor the Promotion of Area Resource Centers (SPARC),the National Slum Dwellers Federation (NSDF), andMahila Milan (MM) showed the Government that ifit turned land for low-income dwellings over to poorpeople, the latter could build cheaper and betterhouses than the Government could. As a result,pavement dwellers and railway informal settlers inMumbai organized five projects that acquired landand built homes for 3,551 families. In Sholapur, twoprojects obtained land for 1,184 families; in Pune,three projects housed 1,301 families; in Kanpur, fourprojects for 486 families; and in Bangalore, twoprojects for 316 families. In other cities, poor groupsshowed remarkable creativity by hiring a contractorto construct a medium-rise building and selling 24of its flats to middle-income families, therebyenabling 74 poor families to obtain their flats free.

In the first decade of its existence, thealliance learned a great deal as it tried new

4 Yunus, Muhammad. 1999. Action Plan 1998-2005: Microcredit—Most Powerful Weapon to Fight Poverty. SELAVIP Newsletter—Journal of Low-Income Housing in Asia and the World April: p. 37-39.

Pavementdwellers andrailway informalsettlers inMumbaiorganized fiveprojects thatacquired landand built homesfor 3,551families.

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approaches to housing large populations. Wherethey once had to plead with the Government fordecent shelter, today communities demand landtenure and access to loans for self-help housing. Inconstructing these homes, they have challengedexisting norms and building standards that used toexclude poor people from decent housing. Thealliance transformed the mindset and accompanyingbehavior of poor people by (1) creatingorganizational capability in their settlements andlinkages between the community and outsidestakeholders; (2) building capacities and locatingresources within and outside communities tofacilitate problem-solving processes; and (3)enhancing people’s abilities to negotiate with city,state, and other officials for long-term solutions5.

In General Santos City, Philippines,centralized top-down decision making during thedictatorial Marcos era of the 1970s and 1980sresulted in forced evictions of many urban poorfamilies to four relocation sites far from the citycenter. The lack of basic facilities, distance fromlivelihood sources, and inhuman demolitions soincensed the relocatees that they formed solidalliances to resist eviction. When the citygovernment ignored their suggestions for alternativesites, they sought the intervention of nationalauthorities and, to illustrate their determination,invaded the alternate site. This show of power anda new city administration more open toconsultations with the people led to a landacquisition scheme negotiated with urbanlandowners through KPS, a support NGO.

The new city mayor acted favorably on anappeal from the people’s organization that a nearbygovernment site, originally intended for a nurseryand city jail, be transformed into a resettlement site.

5 SPARC/MM/NSDF. 1999. Housing projects of the SPARC/NSDF/MM Alliance in 1998. SELAVIP Newsletter—Journal of Low-income Housing in Asia and the World April: 55-60.

In constructingthese homes,they havechallengedexisting normsand buildingstandards thatused to excludepoor peoplefrom decenthousing.

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Her decision to accredit KPS as the task arm of thelocal government’s Urban Poor Council boosted thatNGO’s credibility, especially among landowners,and facilitated cooperation among the city,community associations, and the KPS. By the timethe voluntary relocation took place, the landownerhad installed a water system and donated a soap-making machine for income generation; the cityengineer had made his trucks available for the move;the city agriculturist had provided fruit tree seedlingsfor the new settlement; and the city EconomicManagement and Cooperative Development Officewas organizing the community association into acooperative for soap making and related activities.

By 1995, the city had established the CityHousing and Land Management Office and theUrban and Development Housing Act CoordinatingCouncil. It implemented 12 land acquisition projectswith KPS, furnishing financial assistance, equipment,and infrastructure for the relocation site, andengaging in land-dispute resolution. At the sametime, the contributions of the community and KPSmade the project affordable to the city government."Moving out day" became a festive occasionattended by city officials and well covered by thelocal media, as the people transferred to their newsettlement. The partnership of government-KPS-people’s organization continued to prosper,illustrating among other things that innovative, pro-poor local governments could forge effectivepartnerships without having to wait for nationalgovernment initiatives to get underway6.

In Thailand, the Government allocatedUS$50 million in 1992 to initiate the Urban PoorDevelopment Program under the NationalEconomic and Social Development Plan. A newUrban Community Development Office (UCDO)

6 Akazawa, Akira. 1999. Local Initiatives in Land Acquisition inGeneral Santos City. SELAVIP Newsletter—Journal of Low-IncomeHousing in Asia and the World April: 135-142.

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was to implement the program under the NationalHousing Authority (NHA), yet remain independentof the NHA by virtue of having its own projectcommittee and administrative system. Its Board wascomposed of three government officials, threecommunity leaders, two NGOs, and a representativefrom the private sector. With Government cast asone of the important stakeholders rather than thesole decision maker, genuine partneringarrangements evolved.

Given the UCDO’s autonomy and itsdynamic people-oriented leadership, thecommunity-based organizations (CBOs) thrived.People’s capabilities were recognized andreinforced through land identification, housingloans, saving and credit associations, and varioustraining programs in community planning andmanagement. UCDO’s role was that of facilitator,while communities formulated and implementedtheir plans. They generated substantial funds fordevelopment and decided how these were to beallocated. Here again, one finds that communityself-managed projects are quicker, cheaper, moreflexible, and show better repayment rates thangovernment housing schemes.

Not all went smoothly, however. NGOs andCBOs whose previous orientation had featuredconfrontational modes against the centralGovernment had as much difficulty adjusting to thespirit of partnership and decentralization as did localgovernment officials. Conservative rules andregulations governing existing bureaucraticstructures, exacerbated by turf-conscious ministries,proved to be incompatible with the new bottom-upprocesses and dynamic community institutions. Agreat deal of creativity, good will, and negotiation

Communityself-managedprojects arequicker,cheaper, moreflexible, andshow betterrepayment ratesthangovernmenthousingschemes.

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had to come into play, often spurred by NGOs, inorder to reorient the recalcitrant bureaucracy7.

In Cambodia, participatory urbandevelopment among urban informal settlers in low-lying slum areas of Phnom Penh had communitiesdoing site planning and selecting infrastructureoptions. The Municipality of Phnom Penhconstructed the major storm drain, purchased landfor relocation, and undertook earth filling, whileresidents agreed to work on drainage and garbageremoval, water supply, land improvement, strongerwalkways, street lighting, and savings and creditschemes. To affirm their agreements, Government,community, and the NGO jointly signed acommunity contract detailing infrastructure servicecontributions8.

Nepal’s Lonhla Drainage ConstructionProject, which envisioned a sewerage system thatincluded the building of toilets to serve a lower-caste community of butcher (khadgi) families,brought strong protests from neighboring farmers.They feared that the butchers would dump theiranimal wastes and the remains of slaughteredbuffaloes in the sewerage ditch. Several meetingsbetween the two communities, NGOs, and wardpersonnel were held at which the engineersexplained the project dimensions, answeredquestions, and reviewed a range of issues with allparties until people were satisfied enough to forgeagreements. In working out the frictions thatinevitably emerged in the course of implementingthis agreement, the engineers agreed to repositionthe sewer line. Each set of stakeholders gained a

7 Boonyabancha, Somsook. 1998. Enabling Communities throughSavings and Integrated Credit Schemes as a Strategy for Dealing withPoverty Alleviation. In Urban Governance and Poverty Alleviation inSoutheast Asia; Trends and Prospects. Emma Porio, and contributors.Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University. p. 172-181.

8 Asian Coalition for Housing Rights. 1998. A Trip to Cambodia.SELAVIP Newsletter; Journal of Low-income Housing in Asia andthe World: 47-48.

Government,community, andthe NGO jointlysigned acommunitycontractdetailinginfrastructureservicecontributions.

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clearer understanding of what its particular role wasto be. The municipal corporation and the wardcommittee rendered financial support andundertook coordinated construction in thecommunities with the cooperation of the residents.The latter provided labor and materials forconstructing the toilets, the butchers refrained fromdumping wastes into the canal, and the NGOcoordinated the multistakeholder activities. Whenthe Government immediately repaired a water pipeits work crews had damaged, its credibility rose.The project saw relatively smooth sailing after that.Its successful completion illustrates the importanceof reinforcing trust among the stakeholders,especially the intended beneficiaries.

Pakistan’s world-renowned Orangi PilotProject, detailed elsewhere in this volume, hasdemonstrated how an informal settlement of900,000 people living in 94,122 houses in the hillswest of Karachi made dramatic changes for thebetter to their communities. Contributing their ownfunds and labor, low-income families built flushlatrines in their homes, laid underground seweragepipelines in their lanes and maintained theneighborhood intermediate collector drain. Large-scale treatment plants and sewerage lines wereconstructed under government aegis. Such fruitfulinternal-external collaboration brings maximumbenefits to the success of such projects.

Equally impressive examples of howsignificantly empowered groups can contribute toupgrading urban settings appear everywhere in Asia.While they give cause for rejoicing, one cannotignore the darker side of the picture: genuinepartnerships still remain the exception rather thanthe rule. Most urban officials continue to adoptstances ranging from passive noncooperation at bestto outright retaliation against communities that dareexert claims over services, asset sharing, andinformation.

Most urbanofficialscontinue toadopt stancesranging frompassivenoncooperationat best tooutrightretaliationagainstcommunitiesthat dare exertclaims overservices, assetsharing, andinformation.

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Partnerships between initially hostilestakeholders like CBOs and government entities orlandowners are not easily forged. Typically, theyrequire a great deal of patience, a modicum of trust,and large doses of mutual respect. Modes ofinteraction may feature extensive negotiation,argument, and protest, and considerable pressurefrom one side or the other. In the process,government officials lament the perceivedshortcomings of NGOs, charging them with everything from naivete and ignorance of governmentpolicies and procedures, to deliberately misleadingcommunity groups and to being communist agents!

While the first generation of rural-urbanmigrants 30 years ago may have tolerated neglectand succumbed to government-developer-led forcedevictions, happy simply to have some kind of toe-hold in the city, their urban-born children areproving less submissive and more demanding—inthe manner of true urbanites. Over the past decades,more and more of them have organized ways toimprove their surroundings and build up the socialcapital of collaborative, helping behavior that bringsabout infrastructure improvement, establisheslocally-managed safety measures, and enhancesneighborly interaction and quality of life. Whenlocal and national governments support rather thanrepress these initiatives, they benefit from anenormous reservoir of energy, talent, andcommitment that is an asset to any cityadministration.

Yet, all too often, it is only whencommunities are organized, informed, and awareof their rights that government departments areforced to respond and grudgingly turn their rhetoricabout poverty alleviation into reality.

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Principled Partnerships to Overcome UrbanPoverty

The wide-ranging cases cited above of successfulcommunity action, heightened by collaborativeproblem solving with government and private-sectorgroups, yield important insights for overcomingpoverty. These can help reorient governmentapproaches to promoting multistakeholderpartnerships and alliances that benefit the poor.

While many guidelines already exist9, it isimportant to ground them in the emerging realitiesof 21st century megacities as well as in rapidlygrowing secondary cities and towns. The majorimperative is to foster mechanisms enabling thecitizenry to mobilize on the basis of community orstreet/lane clusters, neighborhood blocks, and localpolitical units, and that systematically facilitatepeople-friendly access to higher local and nationalofficials. Included here is everything from traditionalface-to-face communication between people andpoliticians/government bureaucrats, on the onehand, to well-staffed community relations officesand computerized city services, on the other.

In Andhra Pradesh, India, for example,computerized municipal governments can nowissue permits and certificates to their constituentsin a manner of minutes, where formerly the latterhad to wait days or weeks. Corruption was rife andthe inefficient system particularly victimized thepoor, who had to keep returning to follow up thepapers. Oppressed by officious bureaucrats seekingbribes "to locate their files" and facing the prospectof yet another day’s earnings lost, the defenselesspoor client would have to pay the price. Today,citizens can complain about corrupt officials and

9 See Racelis, Mary. 1999. Cities for Twenty-First Century People.Regional Development Dialogue (RDD). Nagoya, Japan: UnitedNations Centre for Regional Development 20(1): 1-15.

The majorimperative is tofostermechanismsenabling thecitizenry tomobilize on thebasis ofcommunity orstreet/laneclusters.

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practices at the regular quarterly communityconsultations that all officials are required toconduct. There, government representatives andtheir constituents review the commitments madeduring previous visits and assess progress in theirimplementation. Lagging officials are taken to taskfor inaction or slow responses by the communityand eventually by their supervisors as well.

The London-based City DevelopmentStrategies Initiative has identified 18,000 key figuresin the largest 500 cities in Latin America, Africa,and Asia. They form a network furnishing a monthlydatabase for sharing important information amongurban authorities worldwide. Available on electronicmail are case studies, expert views, examples of bestpractices, and information on plans, projects, andopportunities related to cities and urbanization (E-mail:[email protected] and Internet: www.citydev.org).

Lessons learned

• Urban poor communities worldwide havethe capacity to organize themselves aroundissues of common concern and takeresponsible action to promote their well-being and that of the city as a whole.

• Partnerships between government entities,people’s or community organizations, andNGOs require time, personal andinstitutional commitment, and a problem-solving approach to achieve the levels ofmutual respect and trust needed for successand sustainability.

• Urban governments aiming at povertyeradication need to understand andappreciate people’s efforts at improving theirlives, to listen to their voices, and support theirproposals for government participation in theirdevelopmental activities.

Urbangovernments...need tounderstand andappreciatepeople’s effortsat improvingtheir lives.

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• Urban and national government entities thatperceive the urban poor as citizens deservingsupport and dignified treatment rather thanas problems or as undesirable, undeservingresidents, will be better able to tap people’sinitiatives effectively and work out win-winsolutions to local problems of urban poverty.

• Urban poor groups lack information ongovernment procedures, laws andordinances, and technical requirements inorder to move ahead successfully on theirinitiatives; when they overcome this gap,often in partnership with NGOs, they moveforward quickly.

• Identifying the interests of other stakeholders,like private business, media, laborunions, religious institutions, academicorganizations, and others, and drawing theminto consultative processes improvemultistakeholder partnerships.

• Communities and neighborhoods are nothomogeneous, being made up of diversegroups with differential levels of power. Themore vulnerable and least empoweredamong them, who deserve special attentionin participatory governance, are the poorestof the poor, women, children and youth,older persons, disabled persons, ethnic andreligious minorities, and other marginalizedgroups.

• Despite their often disadvantaged personalsituations, urban poor women make up alarge proportion of strong leaders andmembers of community organizations, andsustain the greatest interest in pursuingactivities to improve the lives of their familiesand communities.

• Important as people’s participation ingovernance is for poverty eradication, thestructural causes of poverty and increasing

Urban poorwomen... sustainthe greatestinterest inpursuingactivities toimprove thelives of theirfamilies andcommunities.

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disparities between rich and poor on thenational and global scene likewise demandserious attention.

Orienting Urban Governments towardPoverty Eradication

Remembering the lessons already cited, urbanmayors interested in working toward poverty-freecities can take a number of actions throughpartnerships with people, NGOs, other civil societygroups, and business. Included in this roster are localand national governance mechanisms able torespond to, and support, strong participation of theorganized urban poor in decisions about theircommunities, their cities, their nation, and theirworld. This calls for mayors and city officials whoprioritize the needs and voices of the poor, and servenotice to their staff that performance evaluationswill focus on their adherence to poverty-orientedcriteria.

Pro-poor governance

Pro-poor orientation means more frequent visits tolow-income communities for discussions withresidents and implementation of theirrecommendations. Of great help are well-staffed,people-friendly, community relations offices in cityhall, where people feel welcome to raise issues, seekredress, and obtain information related to theircommunity needs. Also important are budgetaryallocations by local councils giving priority to basicservices in poor communities like clean water,sanitation, health, drainage, family planning,education, housing, site upgrading, recreation, anti-pollution measures, and environmentalconsiderations. Linking neighborhood committeeswith their counterparts on the city or municipalcouncil will allow better sharing of resources,

Of great helpare well-staffed,people-friendly,communityrelations officesin city hall.

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especially access to land, and will highlight theimportance of public services, including street lights,public telephones, postal services, convenienttransport, police precincts and patrols, and firefighting equipment in the area.

Training neighborhood leaders in theintricacies of public administration and finance, anddemystifying information and other forms of newtechnology will greatly expand the rapport betweenpeople and a modernizing government. Communityradio and television, and locally accessible websitescan disseminate key information. Indeed, the entireprocess of legislation, planning, and budgetingneeds to be open and shared, with public hearingsand their agenda announced widely and well inadvance.

Drop-in centers for street and workingchildren offering bathing facilities, a bed for thenight, health care, job training, counseling, andscholarship programs to keep working children inschool even as they continue to help support theirfamilies, will minimize their drift toward becomingfull-time street children. Without this kind ofattention, they face increasing alienation from theirfamilies and the prospect of being lured into criminalgangs, prostitution, and drug syndicates. A specialdesk at the police station staffed by trained policewomen, social workers, and counselors catering towomen and children in conflict with the law furtherreduces victimization and alienation.

Providing credit, training, and marketingassistance for small-scale entrepreneurs, andcurtailing police harassment of petty traders andpeddlers will greatly enhance the income potentialof poor families. So too will legitimizing the myriadinformal businesses that poor communities generateand rely on, like neighborhood nursery schools,mini-factories, family-run food stalls, small shopsselling minimal stocks of basic commodities,informal transport like pushcarts and motorized

Indeed, theentire processof legislation,planning, andbudgetingneeds to beopen andshared.

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pedi-cabs, water and electricity distribution, repairshops, and waste recycling services. Minimizingforced evictions in favor of on-site upgrading ornearby relocation will keep earning opportunitiesintact and not subject economically strugglingfamilies to the severe disruptions posed by suddenrelocation to distant out-of-town settlements offeringfew immediate economic opportunities.

It is important to remember that in fightingto remain in their shanty sites, urban poor peopleare making rational economic choices, opting fortrade-offs that improve their welfare levels. Povertyand the conditions of cities limit their choices andvirtually compel them to live in slums in order tobe near the people who will purchase their services.Their choices, therefore, need to be broadenedthrough rising income levels or changes in land andhousing markets beneficial to them. An urban landreform program aimed at poor beneficiaries would,for example, drastically minimize land speculationand undertake firm and sensitive land-useplanning10.

These examples of possible actions are onlya few of the measures city governments can take toenhance the lives of the poor and establish in thebroader public mind their right to a fair share ofassets, services, information, and dignity. In keepingwith the concept of participatory governance,government officials should recognize that everycommunity has a different mix of preferences, andthat specific groups within the community may havecountervailing priorities. The only way to respondmeaningfully is to dialogue with specificcommunities in their own settings and enable themto work out differences into compromises orconsensus.

10 Gilbert, Alan. 1992. The Housing of the Urban Poor. In Cities,Poverty and Development; Urbanization in the Third World,second edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p.114-154.

Minimizingforced evictionsin favor of on-site upgradingor nearbyrelocation willkeep earningopportunitiesintact.

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Planning with people

One urban specialist recommends that urbangovernments start with a local poverty profile to fillin information gaps and define the main issues inpreparation for neighborhood and city-wideconsultations. This calls for research to assess theways in which the poor are identified in the city,how they perceive their own lives there, and theirattempts to overcome undesirable elements.Municipal or state policies that create and sustainpoverty are also highlighted. National povertyindicators may not always be easily adapted to localconditions, however, nor does their broadframework usually distinguish adequately betweenurban and rural poverty.

Next comes the convening of consultativeworkshops with stakeholders to review the researchresults and link them to specific local conditions inthe process of developing a program of action. Fundsand a local support team to implement the follow-up activities emerging from the consultation are thensought.

Built into the process is a monitoring systemfocusing on the urban poor, city authorities, andthe city itself. Indicators of benefits to the poorinclude their perceptions of services, povertyreduction and improvement, and their increasedself-esteem. Indicators for city authorities entail theirdegree of knowledge of the urban poor, ability todesign instruments to assess the poverty situation,and capacity to mobilize funds within the city forpoverty reduction, including from the private sector,NGOs, and government. The third area of assessingthe city itself looks at the integration of the poorinto the city, the ability of urban poor organizationsto influence public action, the existence of a socialpro-poor consensus among nonpoor stakeholders,

Built into theprocess is amonitoringsystem focusingon the urbanpoor, cityauthorities, andthe city itself.

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11 Wegelin, Emiel A. 1999. Urban Poverty and Local Actions towardsIts Reduction. Regional Development Dialogue (RDD). Nagoya,Japan: United Nations Centre for Regional Development 20(1):20-34.

and the perception and behavior of better-off cityresidents toward the urban poor11.

Electoral accountability to marginalizedconstituents

The growing sophistication of marginalized urbandwellers and the higher educational levels ofsecond- and third-generation urban poor groupsoffer fruitful potential for effective consultations andnegotiations with government and otherstakeholders. City officials who recognize this willfind that they have everything to gain by forginggenuine partnerships of trust and respect. Oncepeople have been involved in the process of craftingsolutions, they readily take up the cudgels forimplementing and sustaining them.

But city officials who resist going evenhalfway to consult with or listen to their people,who refuse to recognize that Asia’s bustling citiesbenefit enormously from the energy and vitality ofpeople in the informal sector, and who deny poorerconstituents their just share of resources and dignitywill be judged part of the problem, not the solution.At the very least, because the urban poor sector playsa pivotal role in electing local officials, no mayorin a democratic system can disagree with MandalaParishan Mayor Sreenivasulu’s caution, "If you forgetthe people, they will forget you!" At the pollingplaces of the 21st century, poor voters will rememberthe candidate who worked to bring them and theirfamilies lives of quality and dignity.

At the pollingplaces of the21st century,poor voters willremember thecandidate whoworked to bringthem and theirfamilies lives ofquality anddignity.

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Working Together to Improve Slums

VI. WORKING TOGETHER

VI. TO IMPROVE SLUMS

This session brought to the fore issues relatedto land and security of tenure, modalities ofslum improvement, operational constraints,

and potential for replication. Cross-sectoralviewpoints from a public agency’s perspective andan NGO’s standpoint were presented, followed byan overview of slum improvement programs overthe last three decades, and the lessons that we havenot learnt from them.

Dr. Pongsak Semson outlined the commoncharacteristics of slums in Bangkok, the problems,experiences, policy, practice, and solutions. TheFifth Bangkok Metropolitan Development Plan statesclearly that the focus in slum development must beon establishment and networking of communityorganizations, reengineering of community andofficial administrative structures, and developmentof information systems. Implementation of thesepolicies has already been initiated. Dr. Semsonconcluded that people in slums are most criticallyaffected by lack of opportunities, and need supportin this respect. All efforts to assist them musteventually help them become self-reliant.

Mr. Arif Hasan described the famous OrangiPilot Project (OPP) established in 1980 in Karachi,Pakistan. The objectives of the OPP are tounderstand the problems of slum settlements inOrangi and their causes, and develop solutions thatpeople can manage and afford. The OPP hasdeveloped models to overcome the constraints thatgovernments face in providing development toinformal settlements. Mr. Hasan’s presentation

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focused on the scaling-up process of the pilotprogram that is now underway. He elaborated onthe achievements of the project and concluded thatdevelopment does not take place with funds only,but through development of skills, self-reliance, anddignity. The three are closely interlinked and makerelationships within community, and betweencommunity and government agencies moreequitable. This change in relationships is the keyfactor that brings about changes in governmentplanning procedures and ultimately in policies.

Dr. Emiel Wegelin of the Institute of Housingand Urban Development Studies, Rotterdam,presented an analytical overview of slumimprovement programs over the past three decades.He described the nature of evolution of slumimprovement initiatives, beginning from primarilyphysical interventions toward low-cost housing. Theapproaches have been modified over the years, froma housing orientation to one of poverty reduction,from projects to programs, and from being based inspecialized housing institutions to local government.

Dr. Wegelin highlighted the critical factorsfor success in any improvement activity: politicalcommitment, mobilization of communities toenhance demand-responsiveness and costeffectiveness, formal security of land, andsensitization to the long-term perspective. He alsooutlined the policy perspective required to makeimprovement programs work. Integration of slumsettlements in the broader city economy andrecognition of improvement as a process offacilitating poor households’ shelter, employment,and income-generation activities were key issues.

The discussions centered on the theme ofcommunity organization, which emerged asprobably the only way to make effectiveinterventions in slum areas and informal settlements.Poor communities are engaged in solving their day-to-day problems on a full-time basis and require

Developmentdoes not takeplace withfunds only, butthroughdevelopment ofskills, self-reliance, anddignity.

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technical and managerial support to improve theirsolutions. They are, however, averse to "owning"plans developed by others. A shift from a project-based approach to an integrated program for povertyalleviation is urgently required.

PONGSAK SEMSONInspector GeneralBangkok Metropolitan Administration, Thailand

Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, is a port aswell as a financial, business, and industrial center,and tourist area. The official number of Bangkokresidents has doubled since 1971 to 5.6 million,but it is estimated that the daytime population maynow reach 9-10 million.

Slums in Bangkok

The Housing Authority of Thailand has defined"slum" as a congested community where sanitationis substandard, water is polluted, and surroundingsare damp and dirty—conditions that may harm thehealth, safety, and morality of people. Generally,slums are low-income housing arrangements in theinformal sector.

There are 1,300 slum communities inBangkok inhabited by 880,000 people, comprising210,000 families in 180,000 houses. The BangkokMetropolitan Administration spends US$7 millionannually on slum improvement.

Profile of Slum Communities in Bangkok

Education: one third of the population in thecommunities has lower than primary schooleducation.

The BangkokMetropolitanAdministrationspends US$7millionannually onslumimprovement.

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Employment: 82 percent of people in thecommunities are employed.

Social Aspects:Crime: 79 percent of all communities haveno serious crimes.Disaster Prevention Training Course: 81percent have been trained.Fire Extinguishing Equipment: 61 percent ofcommunities have adequate fire extinguishingequipment.Primary Education: 100 percent of childrenaged 7-14 are educated.Birth Certificates: 100 percent of children 15-years old and lower have birth certificates.Care of Disabled: 85 percent of the disabledare cared for properly.Social Activities: 80 percent participate insocial activities.

Public Health:Baby Weight: 90 percent of newborn babiesare within the standard weight range.Vaccination: 96 percent of children below 6-years old are vaccinated.Sanitation: 5 percent of the population havediarrhea, which is below the health standard.AIDS Information: 90 percent of families havebeen informed about AIDS.Clean Water: 93 percent of families can accessclean water.Public Sanitation: 84 percent of thecommunities take part in the Public SanitationCampaign, which is lower than standard.

Narcotics: 56 percent of all persons have nonarcotics problems.

Gambling: 59 percent of the communities have nogambling.

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Religion: 94 percent of all families participate inreligious activities.

Slum Improvement Policy

Although Bangkok needs the cooperation of thenational Government to reduce the severity of slumproblems, the city has carried out a number of slumimprovement programs on its own. In the FifthBangkok Metropolitan Development Plan (1997-2001), the following policies are stated.

• The establishment of slum communityorganizations should be accelerated.

• The knowledge and skills of communities’voluntary committees will be upgraded.

• Development activities for agriculturalgroups, occupational groups, and otherworkers will be carried out annually.

• Networks of child care centers and nurseriesare to be promoted.

• Five fundamental services are to be provided.• Networks of organizations working to

minimize the incidence of narcotics, AIDS,and crimes are to be supported in 300communities each year.

• A housing development fund is to beprovided.

• Coordination and public relations are to bepromoted for issuance of house registrationand birth certificates in 1,200 communities.

• Vocational training, including agriculturalknowledge and skills, is to be ensured for15,000 people.

• Two more vocational training centers are tobe established.

• Twelve centers for agricultural studies are tobe established with one vocational networkgroup in each of the four districts, and fourvocational groups in four communities.

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• Suburban markets and stores in communitieswill be organized.

• The agricultural environment will beimproved and the use of chemicalsubstances in agriculture reduced.

• Community and official administrativestructures are to be reengineered.

• The information and database systems haveto be improved, including establishment ofan information center for communitydevelopment.

These policies have been acted on throughthe following projects:

• 92 million Baht Project, to buy land that wastaken back by landowners.

• Phan Din Thum Phan Din Thong Project(Moral and Golden Land Project), to developcommunities on the basis of the morality ofthe people.

• Civic Society Project, to get communitiesinvolved in public activities.

• Youth Project, to give youth the opportunityto have a place where they can share theirproblems and identify solutions.

• Children’s and Women’s Rights Project, toprotect the rights of children and women.

• Community Fund Project, to provide fundsfor lending to community members forinvestment purposes. Community membersmanage the funds.

• Occupational Training and Job CreationProject, to train and create a job market forthe unemployed.

• Three-utility School Project, to use schoolsin Bangkok not only for education but alsofor sports and recreation for people in slumcommunities.

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• Narcotics Prevention Project, to preventnarcotics problems in all possible ways. Forexample, a narcotic prevention center hasbeen established in each community and ismanaged by community members. Seminarsabout narcotics are regularly organized.

Slum Improvement: Problems and Critique

Many people migrate to Bangkok because it hasmore incentives and opportunities than rural areas.Improving the incentives and opportunities in ruralareas is one way to reduce this migration. Thereshould be a policy that links incentives forindividuals to remain in rural locations withincentives for targeted industries to move into thoseareas. It has been suggested that industries couldsupport training centers in the north and northeastareas where they wish to relocate. The policy couldprovide a sufficient density of skilled workers,available at lower cost than in Bangkok, to allowindustries to relocate. Infrastructure and tax privilegesystems should also be designed for industries asanother incentive to relocate.

Industries could also be relocated at theoutskirts of the city, in which case these areas mustbe developed as subcities or subcenters withadequate infrastructure, education, public health,housing, and other primary facilities includingbusinesses and services.

While slums expand naturally and needsupport, this support has to be limited or it will beseen as a welfare incentive for rural people tomigrate. There are many examples where publicofficials and politicians pander to slum dwellers forpolitical reasons, which only worsens and extendsthe problem.

Support should also be providedsystematically. For example, the Government canstrengthen groups in slums through professional

Improving theincentives andopportunities inrural areas isone way toreduce thismigration.

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training. However, these courses will be worthlessif the trainees do not have a job prospect or capitalfor investment. Government may need to assist inthese matters and tap the private sector for support.But more importantly, slum dwellers should learnto be self-reliant—to understand their problems andsolve them by themselves.

ARIF HASANChairman, Orangi Pilot Project, Research andTraining InstituteKarachi, Pakistan

The programs of the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) arewell documented through books, reports, andmonographs. These programs have influenced anumber of government and donor projects, andCBOs and NGOs in Pakistan, which are in theprocess of replicating them. The OPP, on the basisof its 20 years of work with communities, hasbecome involved in developing city-levelalternatives to government plans and is pressing forthese alternatives to become policy.

The Karachi Context

Karachi requires about 80,000 housing units peryear. Building permits are issued for no more than26,700 units per year1. It is estimated that 28,000new housing units per year are developed in katchiabadis or illegal subdivisions of state land2.Additional units on existing lots have not beenestimated. Meanwhile, most of Karachi’s inner cityhas been taken over by the grain, chemical, andmetal markets, the solid waste recycling industry,

1 Karachi Development Plan 2000. Karachi Development Authority.2 Estimates of the author/Urban Resource Centre, Karachi, quoted

in Hasan, Arif. 2000. Understanding Karachi. Karachi: City Press.

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transport and cargo activities, and housing for malelaborers.

It is estimated that more than 50 percent ofKarachi’s population live in about 700 katchi abadis.Of these, 539 abadis having 386,000 housing unitscan be regularized. An ADB and World Bank loanof Rs427.1 million was provided in 1984 for theimplementation of a Katchi Abadi Improvement andRegularization Program. This loan was meant for101 katchi abadis. Work has been completed(residents say it has not) in 33 abadis and leaseshave been issued to 108,245 housing units3.Meanwhile, new abadis are being created every day.

The Orangi Context

Orangi lies in District West, Karachi City. It has apopulation of more than one million (more than 10percent of Karachi’s population) and covers an areaof about 3,200 hectares, 500 of which weredeveloped by the Karachi Development Authority(KDA). Apart from this formally planned area, thetownship consists of katchi abadis developedthrough the informal subdivision of state land. Thesettlements began in 1965 and expanded rapidly inthe mid-1970s. Most of the population is workingclass and belongs to different ethnic and linguisticgroups.

The Orangi Pilot Project

The OPP was established in 1980 by Akhtar HameedKhan, the renowned Pakistani social scientist. Theobjective of the Project was to understand theproblems of Orangi and their causes, and developsolutions that people could manage, finance, andbuild. To achieve this objective, people would

3 Sindh Katchi Abadi Authority. 1999. 21st Quarterly Progress Report.March.

The objective ofthe Project wasto understandthe problems ofOrangi andtheir causes,and developsolutions thatpeople couldmanage,finance, andbuild.

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require technical guidance and managerial supportto implement the solutions, backed-up by technicaland social research.

After years of work, the OPP identified fourmajor problems in katchi abadis: sanitation andhousing quality, employment, health, andeducation. People organize themselves to try andovercome these problems but in the absence oftechnical and managerial guidance and creditsupport, their solutions are usually substandard orunsuccessful.

In 1988 the OPP was upgraded into fourautonomous institutions:

i) the Orangi Pilot Project-Research andTraining Institute (OPP-RTI) dealing withsanitation, housing, education, research,and training;

ii) the Orangi Charitable Trust (OCT) dealingwith microcredit;

iii) the Karachi Health and SocialDevelopment Association (KHASDA)dealing with health; and

iv) the OPP Society, which channels fundsfrom the Infaq Foundation (a Pakistanicharity) to the other three institutions.

Orangi Pilot Project Programs

The Programs of the OPP institutions are describedbriefly below. Of these, the sanitation andmicrocredit programs have expanded into othercities. The sanitation program has had a majorimpact on donor, government, and NGO projects.

Sanitation Program

Sanitation was the major problem identified byOrangi residents. OPP-RTI held meetings in the lanesof Orangi and informed the people that it would

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provide them technical assistance in building theirunderground sewage system if they formed a laneorganization with an elected or nominated lanemanager. Financial and health-related advantagesof the system were also explained.

Once the lane organization was formed, theOPP-RTI technical staff surveyed the lane,established benchmarks with the help of the lanemanager, and prepared a map and estimate for thework, which was handed over to the lane manager.The lane manager collected money from the peopleand organized the work while OPP-RTI supervisedit but was not involved in financial matters. Since alane consists of only 20 to 40 houses, there wereno major problems of mistrust or disagreement.

Initially, only those lanes near a naturaldrainage channel applied for assistance. Later whenother lanes applied, the OPP-RTI identified thelocation of collector drains. It was hoped that thelocal government would fund these but it refusedto do so. Subsequently, a confederation of lanesusing the collector drains was formed to financeand build the collector drains with technical advicefrom OPP-RTI.

OPP-RTI tapped the assistance of studentsand staff of technical and professional academicinstitutions in doing a survey to identify secondarysewers in Orangi. This developed a closer link betweenOPP-RTI and the academic institutions, whichtransformed the curricula of these institutions, and astheir graduates join government agencies, it is hopedthat government attitudes will also undergo a change.

There are 7,256 lanes in Orangi containing104,917 houses. Of these, 6,082 lanes containing91,531 houses have built their sewage systems. Thehouses have also built their latrines and 409collector sewers have also been built. The peoplehave invested Rs80.7 million (US$1.50 million) inthis effort. If the government had done this work,the cost would have been at least seven times more.

The peoplehave investedRs80.7 million(US$1.50million) in thiseffort. If thegovernment haddone this work,the cost wouldhave been atleast seventimes more.

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The reason for the success of the OPP-RTIsanitation model was that the cost per householdof Rs900 (US$16.50) was affordable to thebeneficiaries. The cost was made affordable bycarrying out technical research, modifyingengineering standards, and making procedures andmethods of work compatible with the concept ofcommunity management of construction and self-finance.

The OPP-RTI identified four barriers thatcommunities face in adopting this model:

• Psychological Barrier: communities feel thatinfrastructure development is the work ofgovernment agencies. This barrier isovercome once communities accept that thelane in front of their house belongs to them.

• Social Barrier: this is overcome once a laneorganization is formed and is able to identifyclearly its immediate objective.

• Economic Barrier: this is overcome once thecost of development becomes affordable.

• Technical Barrier: this is overcome byavailability of designs, estimates, tools, andtraining.

Based on its work, the OPP-RTI developedthe "internal-external" concept for sanitation, inwhich there are four levels of sanitation: a sanitarylatrine in the house; underground sewer in the lane;neighborhood collector sewer; and trunk sewer andtreatment plant. The first three constitute "internal"development that low-income communities canfinance, manage, build, and maintain. The fourthitem constitutes "external" development and canonly be carried out by government agencies orNGOs, if they are wealthy or have access to donorfunding.

The OPP-RTI has prepared plans andestimates for the conversion of Orangi’s natural

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drains into box trunks. With the support of its laneorganizations and community activists, it haslobbied with the Karachi Municipal Corporation(KMC) and the District Municipal Corporation forfinancing this conversion. As a result, in thisfinancial year the KMC has financed the buildingof two box trunks at a cost of Rs14.3 million(US$0.26 million). These trunks will serve 850 lanesewers to which 17,000 houses are connected4. Theland reclaimed by this conversion and the slab ofthe drain itself are already being used as acommunity space.

There have been many spin-offs of the OPP-RTI sanitation model. An ADB-funded project (PAK-793, 1990) was modified after the OPP-RTI lobbiedfor its "internal-external" concept to be made partof the project concept. As a result of this OPPmodification, a project that was to cost Rs1,300million was modified to cost Rs36.2 million. Laneactivists, trained by the OPP-RTI, supervised theconstruction of the trunk sewers and did not permitthe contractors to do any substandard work as isnormally done in government contracts. In addition,infant mortality in areas that built their sanitationsystems in 1983 fell from 128 that year to 37 in1993. The lanes have been turned into places ofsocial interaction and children’s play areas. Valuesof properties have increased and people areimproving their homes.

Housing Program

OPP-RTI research established that almost all Orangihouses were substandard because their buildingmaterials were of poor quality, skills wereinadequate, and the contractor and masonrelationship with the house owners was inequitable.

4 OPP. 1999. 80th Quarterly Progress Report. December.

As a result ofthis OPPmodification, aproject that wasto cost Rs1,300million wasmodified to costRs36.2 million.

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The study identified the local building-components manufacturing yard (called a thalla) andits owner (thallawala) as the most important actorsin the housing drama. The thallawala providesbuilding materials, skilled labor, and often creditfor house building. As such he is also the architectand housing bank of the Orangi residents.

The program has upgraded the qualityof concrete blocks by mechanizing their productionat the thallas and by introducing the manufacturingof cheap pre-cast concrete roofing elements att h e thallas to replace tin sheets. In addition,advantages of proper curing of concrete and goodaggregate were also explained to the thallawalasand the house builders. The new houses can nowcarry a second floor. Thallas were given credit (anaverage of Rs75,000 or US$1,400) and advice formechanization and improvement.

So far, 54 thallas have made use of the OPP-RTI package. In the process they have more thantripled their production, increased employment andfinancial returns, and Orangi has become a majorexporter of machine-made concrete blocks androofing elements5.

Ninety-six Orangi masons have been trainedto use the new technologies and they in turn aretraining their apprentices. Technical guidance isbeing provided to communities on design, costs,and the nature of the relationship they should havewith the thallawala and skilled workers whom theyemploy. After failing to get regular architects to setup practices in Orangi, OPP-RTI initiated a two-year program for training educated young men fromthe Orangi communities as para-architects. The firstteam of two para-architects has developed asubstantial clientele, most of whom want theirhomes improved. Approximately 4,000 units per

5 Alimuddin, Salim, and Hasan, Arif. 1997. The Housing Programof the OPP-RTI. Unpublished report.

OPP-RTIinitiated a two-year programfor trainingeducated youngmen from theOrangicommunities aspara-architects.

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year benefit from the housing program’s technicalresearch and its extension.

Orangi Charitable Trust (OCT) MicrocreditProgram

According to the Karachi Development Plan 2000,75 percent of Karachi’s labor force is employed inthe informal sector. The major problem of thisinformal sector is that it has no access to credit.Credit from the informal market carries an interestrate of 8 to 12 percent per month. OCT estimatesthat there are more than 23,000 small businesses inOrangi employing more than 120,000 persons.

The OCT’s microcredit program lends topeople already running businesses. It also considerslending to people who wish to establish newbusinesses provided they are employed in thosebusinesses. So far, 6,921 units have benefited fromthe OCT program and Rs133.944 million (US$2.25million) have been disbursed. Recovery rate is 92percent. The overhead recovered at 18 percent peryear is Rs24 million (US$0.44 million).

The program has been replicated by 38NGOs and CBOs outside Karachi. The OCT hasprovided these organizations with a credit line andtraining. The program has also had a major influenceon the concept of the microcredit bank beingpromoted by the Government of Pakistan.

Education Program

There are 682 private schools and 76 governmentschools in Orangi6. Entrepreneurs, communityorganizations, and public-spirited individuals haveput up the private schools. The OPP-RTI supportsthese schools by putting them in touch withgovernment support institutions, relevant NGOs,

6 OPP. 1999. 79th Quarterly Progress Report. September.

75 percent ofKarachi’s laborforce isemployed in theinformal sector.

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and resource professionals. In addition, the OCTprovides loans for the physical upgrading of theschools while OPP-RTI provides technical anddesign guidance. So far, 399 loans totalling Rs12.5million (US$0.23 million) have been provided forupgrading 151 schools7.

In 1995, the OPP-RTI school project wasstarted. This project identifies young people whowish to open a school and provides a start-up grantof Rs3,000 to 12,000 to open a school in a rentedroom or a shack. When the school stabilizes, creditfrom the OCT is provided for its expansion andconstruction of classrooms. The school initiator ishelped in acquiring a plot of land for the school. Sofar, 45 schools have been built in this manner andthe program is expanding rapidly.

Because of the OPP-RTI education program,Orangi has a higher literacy rate and its schools arebetter in physical and curriculum terms than is thecase in other katchi abadis. Many Orangi schoolshave now acquired computers and are trainingstudents in information technology. Young Orangiresidents are becoming white-collar workers,college teachers, corporate-sector employees, andformal-sector entrepreneurs.

Health Program

KHASDA’s health program initially consisted ofcreating a women’s organization in lanes that hadbuilt their sewage system. A mobile health teamvisited the women’s lane organization every weekfor a period of six months, after which the visitswere phased out. The team also arranged visits bygovernment agencies to the lane for immunization;introduced population planning concepts andsupplies; and gave advice on nutrition, child-care,and kitchen gardening. Although successful, the

7 Ibid.

This projectidentifies youngpeople whowish to open aschool andprovides a start-up grant.

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program only reached 3,000 families and was fartoo expensive to expand to all of Orangi.

A survey showed there were 647 privateclinics in Orangi and a number of traditional birthattendants (TBAs) as well. The present healthprogram consists of training TBAs (377 have beentrained) and vaccinators (148 have been trained)from the community. An extension program hasbeen initiated with the private clinics, which areencouraged to employ the TBAs and vaccinators.Links between the government’s health departmentand agencies and the Orangi clinics have beenestablished though KHASDA. The clinics wereunaware of government support programs and theseprograms before had only targeted CBOs and NGOs(many of which had no experience in health issues).As a result of the modified health program, 102clinics now receive vaccines and 124 clinics receivefamily planning supplies. These clinics now employthe trained TBAs and vaccinators.

Scaling-up the OPP-RTI Sanitation Model

Attempts to replicate the OPP-RTI sanitation modelhave been made since 1983 in various locations inKarachi. However, it was soon discovered that thiswas not possible without a local organization takingover the responsibility of social mobilization andtechnical support. This realization led to the trainingof local activists and technicians and themobilization of community organizations. After this,replication within Karachi posed no problemsbecause OPP-RTI staff and expertise have beenavailable.

The most successful replication in Karachihas been that of Manzoor Colony where 153 lanescontaining 2,950 houses now have undergrounddrainage along with 36 collector drains. This entiresystem disposes into a natural drain that joins thesea. With the help of OPP designs and estimates,

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the community lobbied successfully with theadministration for converting the open drain into abox trunk. The conversion is now complete andcarries with it the affluent of 1.5 million persons,not only of Manzoor Colony but also a large plannedarea of Karachi. Plans to install a treatment plant atthe end of the box trunks are underway.

Of 13 NGO/CBO attempts at replicating thesanitation program outside Karachi, five have beenfailures, two have been remarkably successful, andfour show signs of promise. In all cases except one,the NGOs and CBOs that replicated the programset up a small unit whose administrative andoverhead costs were paid for by the OPP-RTIthrough its own resources or by arranging funds fromWaterAid, a UK-based NGO. These costs havevaried from Rs150,000 (US$2,750) to Rs450,000(US$8,350) per year.

Wherever local initiatives have beensuccessful, they very quickly establish a dialoguewith local government in charge of sewage systemsand press for the acceptance of the "internal-external” concept. Local governments are underpressure to perform and as such they informallyaccept this concept and support the communities.However, the provincial planning agencies do notaccept this concept and its implementation takesplace in violation of their standards, procedures,and plans. This violation is helped by the fact thatthe plans of these agencies do not get implemented;with the expansion of settlements and ad-hoc layingof infrastructure, the agencies’ plans very soonbecome redundant.

NGOs and CBOs that successfully replicatethe OPP-RTI model are flooded with requests fromother settlements to assist them in solving theirsanitation problems in a similar manner. There havebeen failures and successes. The failures of someNGOs and CBOs to replicate the OPP-RTI programhave been as follows.

NGOs andCBOs thatsuccessfullyreplicate theOPP-RTI modelare floodedwith requestsfrom othersettlements toassist them.

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• Failure to develop a technical-cum-motivation team, because the technicalpeople do not come from within thecommunity and leave whenever a betteropportunity is available.

• Acceptance of large sums of donor moneyfor expansion, because some NGO/CBOs donot have the capacity or the capability toexpand their work accordingly. Acceptinglarge sums of money has also led to financialmismanagement and in one case to thecancellation of funding.

• Subsidizing lane development, becausewhere cost sharing takes place, there areinvariably disputes, higher costs, and lessempowerment of communities. Greaterresources, that are not normally available,are then required and in their absence theprogram fails.

• Absence of patience, because the OPP-RTIsanitation model requires patience and time.NGOs/CBOs without such patiencediscontinue the program.

• Failure to keep in touch with the OPP-RTIand seek its advice.

• Failure to share accounts of the NGO/CBOwith the community, which makes thecommunity feel that the NGO/CBO ismaking money from foreigners orgovernment agencies.

NGO/CBO successes in replicating the OPP-RTI program occur when the above situations havebeen avoided and where there has been availabilityof a map of the area or the expertise to prepare sucha map; and regular weekly meetings to reviewprogress, take stock, assign responsibilities, andidentify weaknesses and the processes to overcomethem.

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New Issues for the OPP-RTI

With the expansion of the work of the OPP-RTI andthe increasing number of communities and citygovernments (not provincial planning agencies)from all over Pakistan that wish to replicate the workof the OPP institutions, a number of new issues havesurfaced. These are listed below.

i) The scale of work has become too largefor the OPP-RTI to handle alone. OPP-RTI’swork is no longer with communities only.It is also doing advocacy and gettingsupport of communities from all overKarachi for its methods. In addition, manystudents from universities and professionalcolleges visit the projects for orientationand research. To overcome this pressure,the OPP-RTI has established close workingrelations with other NGOs and CBOs. Forexample, through such collaboration, anADB-funded US$100 million sewageproject (Korangi Waste Water ManagementProject) was modified and the ADB loancancelled.

ii) Policy issues. NGOs and CBOs replicatingthe OPP model very soon come in conflictwith rules and regulations of governmentagencies or with the methodology ofinternationally funded projects. Toovercome this, the OPP-RTI is proposingthe holding of an annual congress of all itspartners and making it a high-profile affair,which will present policy alternatives tothe government.

iii) Community leaders turned mafia agents.Some OPP-RTI community activists whohelped the neighborhoods build theirsewage systems, became involved withcontractors and land grabbers when the

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natural drains were turned into box trunks.To counteract this, the OPP-RTI has beguna lecture series to give the communities abroader vision of development.

iv) Donor funding. Organizations andindividuals who come for training to OPP-RTI use this association for acquiringfunding from foreign donors but do notimplement the OPP-RTI model or followits methodology. OPP-RTI feels that it isbeing abused and is considering steps,including a change in its trainingprocedures, to stop this from happening.

v) Professional staff. OPP-RTI has no problemtraining and recruiting para-professionals,technicians, and social organizers fromwithin the community. However,professional staff are difficult to recruit. Thisis caused by the big gap betweenconventional professional training and themanner in which the OPP-RTI functions.It takes a long time for a trainedprofessional to unlearn what he or she haslearnt and very few have the patience togo through with it. Increasingly, universitiesand professional colleges are associatingthe work of their students with the Orangiprograms, which will hopefully overcomethis issue.

Conclusions

Communities are already trying to solve theirproblems; if technical advice and managerialguidance are provided, their solutions will improve.However, before one can support community effortsone has to understand the actors and factorsinvolved in development-related work; theirrelationship with each other; and their social,economic, and technical strengths and weaknesses.

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The most important tool in understanding acommunity is a map of their neighborhood and thedocumentation of its physical condition.

Development does not take place with funds,but through the development of skills, self-reliance,and dignity. The three are closely interlinked andfollow each other in the order mentioned. Theymake relationships within communities, andbetween community and government agencies,more equitable. This change in relationships bringsabout changes in government planning proceduresand ultimately in policies.

Capacity and capability building ofgovernment agencies can never be successfulwithout pressure from organized andknowledgeable groups at the grass roots. Suchgroups can only be created by trained activists whoare supported financially. Formally trainedprofessionals and technicians are not an alternativeto such activists. The formation of such groups forcestransparency in the functioning of governmentagencies. The most important aspect of transparencyis the printing of accounts and their availability tocommunity members.

One of the major reasons for disasters ingovernment planning is that ideal plans are madefirst and finances sought later. Often these financesdo not materialize. Things would be very differentif planning were done on the basis of a realisticassessment of available funds; if an optimumrelationship can be arrived at between resources(financial, technical, and others), standards, anddemands; and if planning recognizes that all threeare dynamic and can change over time.

Finally, to promote Orangi-type programsand make them a part of government policy, it isnecessary to restructure the curriculum ofprofessional colleges, universities, and institutionsthat train public servants.

The mostimportanttool inunderstanding acommunity is amap of theirneighborhoodand thedocumentationof its physicalcondition.

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EMIEL A. WEGELINDirector, Institute for Housing and UrbanDevelopment Studies,Rotterdam, Netherlands

Nature and Evolution of Slum Improvement

Historically, slum improvement was seen primarilyas a low-cost alternative housing policy option, withthe notion being that it would be more cost effectiveto upgrade substandard housing environments thanto demolish them and rehouse the residents. If onelooks at slum improvement in that way, it will alsocome as no surprise that the emphasis initially wasprimarily physical, focusing on public action inproviding/upgrading neighborhood infrastructureand services, leaving private household action onstructural improvement/extension to the residentsthemselves. This approach fitted well with theemerging notion that the State should move out ofits role as a housing provider and become an"enabler" in support of private household andcommunity action8.

In the early years, slum improvement wasconceptualized in the form of unconnected projectsat neighborhood level in those neighborhoods thatqualified on a score of physical degradation, morethan as a policy approach. Over the years, theemphasis in slum improvement strategies has shiftedfrom a housing orientation to an urban povertyreduction orientation, and a redefinition of the

8 Early references to this notion are found in the classic "Man’sstruggle for shelter in an urbanizing world" by Charles Abrams; itbecame mainstreamed in the 1970s by the World Bank (HousingSector Policy Paper, 1975), based on the pioneering work donein the 1960s by John F. C. Turner and associates in the slums ofLima, Peru.

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institutional anchor point from specialized housinginstitutions to local or municipal government9.

On a somewhat different institutional note,in some countries the State defaulted not only as ahousing provider, but also as an enabler. Wholeneighborhoods were left to their own devices andin a number of instances CBOs emerged thateffectively assumed the enabling role by default; theOrangi Pilot Project in Karachi is a classic example.

This brought into sharp focus the need todetermine which agency could best play theenabling role, a recognition that this role could wellbe different depending on the support elementconcerned, and that perhaps different actors wererequired for different support actions, even thoughthe need for an orchestration mechanism wouldremain. Consequently, a wide range of arrangementsin slum improvement planning and managementemerged.

Lessons of Experience

Slum upgrading programs have generally comprisedneighborhood infrastructure upgrading, includingthe provision and/or upgrading of walkways,microdrainage, neighborhood water supplydistribution, solid waste collection, and sometimescommunal sanitation. It is often complemented bylegalization of land tenure, and sometimesdovetailed with a home improvement loan and/orsmall business development loan scheme andcapacity building/training support.

9 Many of the elements identified in urban poverty reductionstrategies for local government are components of what hasvariously been included in slum improvement strategies. SeeVanderschueren, Franz, Emiel Wegelin, and Kadmiel Wekwete.1996. Policy Program Options for Urban Poverty Reduction – aFramework for Action at the Municipal Level. Urban ManagementProgramme Policy Paper No. 20. Washington DC: United NationsCentre for Human Settlements.

In somecountries theState defaultednot only as ahousingprovider, butalso as anenabler.

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Slum improvement programs have expandedsignificantly over the last 30 years. Supported bythe international development community,upgrading of slum areas has emerged as one of thetwo main prongs of the enabling approach toimproving the environmental conditions of theurban poor10. Following are some of the majorlessons from these programs.

Upgrading slum/squatter areas is a highlypoliticized activity and requires a sustained level ofpolitical commitment, active mobilization ofcommunities, and sensitization to long-termsustainability issues. Often, upgrading is still carriedout as an ad hoc and short-term project activity,and therefore does not sufficiently address the largerproblems of supply and demand of shelter andservices in the broader urban setting.

There is a need for a more comprehensiveapproach to upgrading, including social (particularlyprimary health care and education) and economicservices. Yet where this has been attempted,additional complications have often arisen. Forinstance, where provision of small businessdevelopment loans is included in the upgradingprogram, there is often a coordination problembetween the agencies involved (usually themunicipality and one or more financial institutions).Similarly, where programs have included explicitmeasures to legalize land tenure, the complexity ofmanaging this alongside services and infrastructuretends to increase.

The environmental benefit of isolatedneighborhood upgrading has been shown to be

10 For example, slum improvement programs have been supportedin their own right by the World Bank and the ADB, and have alsocomprised major components in more broad-based urban lendingoperations by these institutions. Slum improvement has beenrecognized as a core feature of the urban policy of both institutions.See ADB. 1999. Urban Sector Strategy. Manila:ADB; and WorldBank. 1999. A Strategic View of Urban and Local GovernmentIssues: Implications for the Bank. Washington DC: World Bank.

There is a needfor a morecomprehensiveapproach toupgrading,including social(particularlyprimary healthcare andeducation) andeconomicservices.

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limited due to problems at the trunk end of themunicipal infrastructure provision, for instance inorganizing safe, final garbage disposal sites, and indeveloping effective city-wide drainage andsewerage systems with adequate treatment facilities.

Direct full cost recovery of public investmentin slum improvement programs has beenproblematic, considering the need to keep solutionsaffordable for the urban poor, but also from theconceptual and operational perspectives. Programsthat do not have a land tenure regularizationcomponent have generally relied on indirect costrecovery through local (mainly land/property)taxation, and/or have accepted that neighborhoodinfrastructure is a part of the wider urbaninfrastructure network and its associated financingproblems. The implication of that view is, of course,that direct cost recovery in the narrow context ofslum upgrading is not appropriate, and that there isa need to "unbundle" municipal services also at theneighborhood level in order to achieve any measureof cost recovery.

The broadening of perspectives on slumimprovement has led to a move away fromspecialized housing-oriented implementationagencies, and in many countries, municipalitieshave become the lead agencies in implementingslum improvement schemes. This, however, begsthe question of which is the most appropriateinstitutional location within the municipalorganization for integrated program planning,budgeting, implementation, and monitoring of whatin essence is a multisectoral program with widelydiffering (public-private) implementationarrangements.

All these issues can be dealt with more easilyif there is a high level of participatory "ownership"among the residents of both the process and (byimplication) its outcome. Yet, it must be emphasizedthat such stakeholder processes are neither easy nor

Direct costrecovery in thenarrow contextof slumupgrading is notappropriate.

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quick in their organization and management, eventhough they provide a much better chance ofultimate sustainability of the effort.

What does it take to make it work?

Three decades after the initial embrace by theinternational community of slum improvement as amajor focus in shelter policy, there is now a richand diverse store of lessons from experience, assummarized above. All of this suggests that we cando it, but that the appropriate mixture of ingredientsvaries significantly from place to place.

The starting point must be a perspective onwhy slums are there in the first place, namely as aresult of market and public policy failure for asignificant segment of urban society. This isundesirable, inefficient, and dangerous for the cityas a whole. The objective of public policy musttherefore be to integrate slum settlements into thebroader city economy in the interests of all, not onlyof the slum communities themselves. Thisperspective is increasingly shared by urbanpolicymakers the world over.

A second important policy perception to beclear about at national and local levels alike is thatthe bulk of housing for the urban poor will continueto be built by the urban poor themselves. Theoverwhelming evidence is that slum improvementschemes have led to a moderate acceleration of thenormal organic process of low-income settlementformation and consolidation, including the provisionof neighborhood infrastructure. It is important toview public action in slum upgrading as an ongoingprocess of assisting households‘ shelter-,employment-, and income-generating opportunities.

An overriding requirement for success issustained political commitment to the aboveunderpinnings of the approach. Such politicalcommitment is most important at the local level,

The startingpoint must be aperspective onwhy slums arethere in the firstplace.

The bulk ofhousing for theurban poor willcontinue to bebuilt by theurban poorthemselves.

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where the locus of the action lies. Therefore, at thislevel municipalities must not only continue toinitiate and support slum upgrading schemes, butshould also perceive such schemes as a standardfeature of municipal services delivery.

Increased cooperation with neighborhoodassociations and other CBOs and NGOs will benecessary in making such schemes more demandoriented and cost effective. Priority setting andfinancing of infrastructure investments must be donethrough shared responsibility with the community,instead of for the community. Municipalities needto perceive communities and NGO/CBOs aspotential partners in the planning and programmingprocess, i.e. to help the search for innovativesolutions.

For the approach to be successful,municipalities need to ensure adequate security ofland tenure, in order to avoid eviction/displacementof low-income residents and to safeguard thesustainability of the physical investment both inhouseholds’ shelter and in infrastructure.

Municipalities need to enhance the intrinsiccost effectiveness of slum improvement schemes byensuring that such neighborhood schemes areadequately linked into major trunk infrastructure.Therefore, at the city level also, municipalities mustincreasingly plan and program the development ofmunicipal services in an integrated and participatoryway, with the maximum extent of communityparticipation possible.

To handle all the above effectively requiresvery careful consideration of the institutionallocation of slum improvement responsibilities withinthe municipal government structure, in order toreflect adequately the political commitment, to beable to forge effective partnerships withcommunities and their support organizations, andto effectively interlink with other municipal servicedepartments and organizations.

Priority settingand financing ofinfrastructureinvestmentsmust be donethrough sharedresponsibilitywith thecommunity,instead of forthe community.

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Planning, programming, and budgetingcapabilities of municipalities will often require tobe enhanced in a major way to ensure that theprocesses are handled effectively and professionally.Integration of slum upgrading into the mainstreamof municipal services delivery cannot be seen as anadd-on job for a municipal engineer or town clerk.To do this well often requires major investments inmunicipal reorganization, and in augmenting andupgrading the quality and skills of municipal staff.

It is clear from the above that a long-termperspective is needed—there is no quick fix.International support institutions such as thedevelopment banks must be ready to support long-term programs by committing themselves not onlyto cofinancing slices of physical investments, butalso to supporting capacity-building investments ofthe nature described above.

Integration ofslum upgradinginto themainstream ofmunicipalservicesdelivery cannotbe seen as anadd-on job.

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VII. PROVIDING HOUSING FOR

VII. THE POOR

T his session highlighted the diversity inhousing situations among countries andfeatured three completely different

approaches to poverty issues.Dr. P.K. Mohanty provided a detailed

account of the housing scenario in India and theprograms introduced by the national Governmentfor housing the poor. He also recounted theinitiatives of the Government of Andhra Pradesh andits achievements in housing delivery for the poor.

Mr. Andrew Regalado described theapproach adopted by the Habitat for HumanityPhilippines Foundation and its activities. In ananalysis of the housing scenario in the Philippines,he touched upon the key shelter issues, especiallyin the context of the poor, and the role of variousgovernmental agencies in provision of shelter andservices. NGOs like Habitat for Humanity areassisting the Government in its efforts. The keymessage that emerged from Mr. Regalado’spresentation was that the gap between available andrequired housing is so large that it cannot entirelybe bridged through direct interventions of theGovernment. Partnerships with stakeholders areessential; NGOs can play the critical role of formingan interface between poor communities and the citygovernment. They can assist in empoweringcommunities and building partnerships.

Ms. Somsook Boonyabancha made a forcefulpresentation on the problems of traditional modelsof housing development and the fresh approachesbeing adopted, especially in Thailand. She

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highlighted the major housing problems for the poor,viz., the problems of substandard housing and livingenvironment, and that of eviction. Speaking of theinability of the poor to access housing, she broughtout the need to examine and evaluate pastexperiences in providing housing for the poor andto develop a comprehensive approach, an approachthat would put the poor at the center of thedevelopment process. A piecemeal, project-basedapproach to housing cannot possibly work. She alsodrove home the point that all the poor must beincluded in this process, irrespective of their legalstatus.

Ms. Somsook’s presentation carried themessage that building participatory-housingdevelopment processes is perhaps the only way ofgiving people a voice and choice on how and wherethey want to live. A comprehensive developmentprocess, such as that adopted by the UrbanCommunity Development Office in Thailand, mustbegin with building community savings. Moneybrings people together and gives them communaldecision-making power. Another key point that washighlighted was the need to network poor groupsin order to consolidate their savings and strengthentheir case while negotiating for basic needs. Thepoor normally live in scattered and disaggregatedsettlements. However, there are enormous resourceswithin communities that can be tapped andchanneled into the right direction.

In the open discussion following thepresentations, participants observed that there is arange of housing development options that havebeen tried and tested in Asian countries. Some ofthese include on-site community improvement, landsharing, reconstruction and development, and landexchange and readjustment. The essence of thediscussion was that the role of local governmentsas enabler is quite critical. Governments must playthe role of facilitator, enabling the land and housing

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market to operate freely, and regulating it as requiredto ensure equity. Additionally, local governmentsmust ensure that all actors, not just the formal privatesector, participate in the housing developmentprocess.

Discussions on this theme also centered onthe issue of land, concluding that two levels ofintervention for land management are required. Atthe national level, there is a need to set out policyclearly, to modify and simplify legislation, anddevelop a policy environment for private-sectorparticipation. At the local level, it is important toensure that housing for the poor is part of the citymaster plan or structural plan and not an ad hocexercise.

PRASANNA K. MOHANTYCommissioner and Special Officer, MunicipalCorporation of HyderabadAndhra Pradesh, India

Approach to Housing Development in India

After Independence, housing in India was accordeda relatively low priority in the national developmentprogram, presumably with the objective of keepingit a private-sector activity. The low budgetarysupport given to the housing sector is evident fromthe fact that the first Five-year Plan of India allocated7.4 percent of the total plan resources for housing;the share of housing in subsequent plans has rangedbetween 1.2 and 4.9 percent. Government agencies,however, played a strong supporting role in theprovision of housing for the poorer sections ofsociety, including allocation of land. Over the yearsthere has been a gradual shift in the role of theGovernment from a ‘provider’ to a ‘facilitator’,ensuring access to developed land, basic services,building materials, technology, construction skills,

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and finance so that housing can be undertaken as apeople’s program. The facilitating approach aimsat fostering strong public-private sector partnershipswith the provision of appropriate incentives to theprivate sector; promotion of housing financeinstitutions; propagation of alternative buildingmaterials and technologies; and extension of supportto NGOs, CBOs, cooperatives, and the privatesector.

The Government of India and stategovernments adopted a two-pronged approach tohousing development for the poor in the past, i. e.sites and services, and permanent housing. Undersites and services, basic infrastructure facilities likedrinking water, internal roads, approach roads,drainage, and community toilets were provided.Beneficiaries were also given construction assistanceto erect a small shelter. The permanent housingprogram, which has replaced sites and services, wasinitially confined to those beneficiaries who couldavail of a loan facility. Later, several modificationswere made to the program to address the housingneeds of different target groups. The broad elementsof the present approach of the Government of Indiato tackle the problem of housing the poor are

• special programs/targeted subsidies to thepoor and vulnerable groups;

• loan assistance to government agencies/beneficiaries through the Housing and UrbanDevelopment Corporation (HUDCO) atbelow-market interest rate for housing andat the normal rate for infrastructure;

• creation of housing assets as part ofemployment and income-generationprograms;

• promotion of cost-effective and eco-friendlybuilding materials and technologies; and

• creation of an enabling environment forprivate-sector initiatives. Indira Awas Yojana

The facilitatingapproach aimsat fosteringstrong public-private sectorpartnerships.

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is an example, in which housing for varioustargeted groups is provided in rural areasthrough employment creation.

Housing and Urban DevelopmentCorporation (HUDCO)

HUDCO was established in 1970 as a fully-ownedenterprise of the Government of India with an equitybase of Rs20 million, to function as a nationaltechno-financial institution to promote housing andurban development. The objectives of HUDCO areto provide finance for and undertake housingprograms in both urban and rural areas. Keyactivities of HUDCO include

• lending for housing programs such as urbanhousing, rural housing, staff rental housing,cooperative housing, working women’shousing, housing schemes through NGOsand CBOs, and housing through privatebuilders;

• lending for urban infrastructure includingland acquisition for projects, integrated landacquisition and development, integratedarea development/new township projects,and city-level, social, and commercialinfrastructure;

• consultancy services in the field of housing,township development, and infrastructuredevelopment;

• promotion of building centers for technologytransfer and support to building materialindustries; and

• training in human settlements and technicalassistance to borrowing agencies.

The borrowers from HUDCO are state urbaninfrastructure finance and developmentcorporations, water supply and sewerage boards,

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urban development authorities, state housingboards, the National Capital Region Planning Board,new town development agencies such as theCity and Industrial Development Corporation,Mumbai municipal corporations/municipalities,improvement trusts, and private companies andagencies.

HUDCO’s operations extend over 1,760towns and thousands of villages in the country. Sinceits inception, HUDCO has sanctioned 14,821projects with a total cost of Rs48.51 billion(US$11.54 billion). HUDCO has contributed to thedevelopment of 10.14 million dwelling units and4.7 million low-cost sanitation units. HUDCO’sinfrastructure financing portfolio is growing at aphenomenal rate. During the last 10 years, it hassanctioned Rs12.24 billion (US$2.9 billion) forinfrastructure projects covering water supply,sewerage, drainage, solid waste management, lowcost sanitation, etc.

National Housing and Habitat Policy 1998

In 1994, India adopted the National Housing Policy(NHP), which recognizes the key role of theGovernment as facilitator rather than provider ofhousing services. The National Housing and HabitatPolicy (NH&HP) 1998 is a continuation of the NHP.It calls for a housing revolution in the country andfocuses on the changed roles of various stakeholdersin the housing development process in the neweconomic environment of liberalization andglobalization. The broad aims of NH&HP are

• creation of surpluses in housing stock eitheron rental or ownership basis;

• providing quality and cost-effective housingand shelter options to the citizens, especiallyfor vulnerable groups and the poor;

HUDCO hascontributed tothe developmentof 10.14 milliondwelling unitsand 4.7 millionlow-costsanitation units.

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• guiding urban and rural settlements to ensureplanned and balanced growth and healthyenvironments;

• making urban transport an integral part ofthe urban master plan;

• using the housing sector to generate moreemployment and achieve skill upgrading inhousing and building activities;

• promoting accessibility of dwelling units tobasic facilities like sanitation and drinkingwater;

• removing legal, financial, and administrativebarriers for accessing land, finance, andtechnology for housing; and

• forging strong partnerships between theprivate, public, and cooperative sectors inhousing and habitat projects.

The NH&HP envisages a key role for theGovernment of India in promoting policy and legalreforms, facilitating the flow of resources to housingand infrastructure through such measures as fiscalconcessions to investors and promoting the creationof a secondary mortgage market. The stategovernments are expected to gradually withdrawfrom direct construction of houses, liberalize thelegal and regulatory regime to give a boost to thehousing and infrastructure industries, promote theprivate sector and cooperatives, and facilitate accessof the poor to land, finance, low-cost and locally-suited engineering solutions, and participatorydesigns.

The Two Million Housing Program

The National Agenda for Governance—the electionmanifesto of the present Government—recognizes"housing for all" as a national priority. It has set as atarget the construction of 2 million additional housesevery year, of which 0.7 million are to be in urban

The stategovernmentsare expectedto graduallywithdraw fromdirectconstruction ofhouses.

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areas and 1.3 million in rural areas. A program ofthis magnitude is expected to result in an investmentof about Rs80 billion in housing constructionactivities. This should also boost cement, steel, andother building material industries in addition tocreating substantial employment in this sector. Everymillion rupees spent by the construction industrygenerates about 75 person-years of employment.

The Andhra Pradesh Model: Self-help andMutual Help

Andhra Pradesh is a pioneer state for implementinginnovative housing programs for the poor on a largescale. The State Housing Corporation Limited,established in 1979 to formulate, promote, andexecute housing schemes for the weaker sectionsof society, had constructed about 3.6 million housesby 31 March 2000; of these 2.4 million were inrural areas. It has been ranked first in the country inthe implementation of housing for the poor in ruralareas since 1991-92. Households with an annualincome of Rs13,000 or less have been eligible forhouses under various schemes since 1996-97. Fiftypercent of the houses are earmarked for scheduledcastes and scheduled tribes, 33 percent forbackward castes, 7 percent for minorities, and theremaining 10 percent for other economically weakgroups. The funding of the housing program includessubsidy from the government and loans from variousfinancial institutions for the repayment of which thegovernment stands guarantee, irrespective of theultimate recovery from beneficiaries. Loans aremobilized from HUDCO, life insurance and generalinsurance corporations, and commercial banks.

The basic concepts and features based onwhich the Weaker Section Housing Program is beingimplemented in are as follows:

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• "self-help and mutual help" by thebeneficiaries and their full participation indecision making and implementation,consequently resulting in their capacitybuilding;

• the concept of a "core house", which is easilyexpandable depending upon improvementin the economic position of the beneficiariesand their needs. The adequacy of theaccommodation is not relevant as thegovernment gives only fixed financialassistance to the beneficiary;

• cost-effective and eco-friendly buildingmaterials and construction technologies; and

• the principal bank branch system in handlingfinances. The amount due to beneficiaries isdirectly credited to their individual bankaccounts. One bank is designated as thenodal or principal bank for each scheme.The nodal bank promotes banking habits andthrift and credit among beneficiaries.

Some Directions for the Future

Although the NH&HP emphasizes the facilitating roleof the government in housing, public-sector agenciesare not absolved of the responsibility of providinghousing to those segments of the population thatcannot be served by the market. However, a newapproach is needed for issues such as

• consultations with beneficiaries on location;• design and cost aspects of shelter;• affordable shelter options for the very poor;• integration of income generation and

housing;• eligibility criteria for availing of housing

finance and providing collateral;• easier availability of plots and houses from

public and private providers;

Public-sectoragencies are notabsolved of theresponsibility ofprovidinghousing tothose segmentsof thepopulation thatcannot beserved by themarket.

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• assistance for house construction and speedyapprovals for construction of infrastructuralservices; and

• simplification of documentation andprocedures.

Housing subsidies often benefit the salariedemployees of the formal sector including thegovernment and the recipients of tax concessionsfor housing investment. Implicit subsidies tobeneficiaries of social housing schemes arise fromloan waivers, low cost-recovery rate, concessionalinterest rates, and inefficiencies absorbed by theagencies. The schemes involving a combination ofconcessional loan and subsidy affect the extensionof viable nonsubsidized finance, based on rigorouslyenforced cost recovery.

The state governments need to adopt a policyon the regularization of tenure and conferment ofleasehold or occupancy rights to slum dwellers, atleast in areas not needed by public agencies. TheNH&HP emphasizes the granting of occupancyrights to slum dwellers and providing support forprogressive slum redevelopment and improvementschemes. Also, physical and social planning shouldbe city wide so as to integrate the informal sector inthe city’s economy and social life.

With the Union Budgets for 1998-99 and1999-2000 according a new thrust to housing inthe National Agenda for Governance, the centraland state governments have initiated an agenda forhousing sector reforms. The reform areas include

• public-private sector partnerships to ensurea fair return on investment to the private landowners/developers through guideddevelopment and availability of servicedsites for allotment to low-income families ataffordable prices;

Schemesinvolving acombination ofconcessionalloan andsubsidy affectthe extensionof viablenonsubsidizedfinance.

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• measures to control the continuing spiral ofland prices, speculation, shortage ofdeveloped land, and increasing pace ofunregulated and environmentally damagingland development;

• increased availability of developed landthrough measures such as reservation of 5percent of the land in larger areas as a landbank for economically weaker sections andlow-income groups, and for land pooling,land readjustment, etc.;

• restructuring of housing finance institutionsto meet the housing finance needs of theformal sector as well as the poor and theinformal sector; a revision of currenteligibility norms that inhibit the flow of asignificant proportion of funds from theformal sector to the poorer sections of thepopulation is needed;

• establishment of linkages with informalcredit systems along with granting securityof tenure to slum dwellers and reformsrelated to land title, building regulations, etc.,with a view to assisting the poor to accessinstitutional finance for housing;

• community resource mobilization throughschemes such as an insurance-linkedsavings-cum-loan-cum-subsidy scheme forshelter for the poor engaged in informalsector activities, under which a house isinsured for Rs25,000 against damage due tofire, lightning, flood, storm, tempest,cyclone, etc. for a nominal one-timepremium of Rs150;

• increased involvement of NGOs/CBOs/cooperatives to promote self-help, mutualhelp, thrift and credit, self-management,community empowerment, etc. There is aneed for shifting to community-basednonsubsidized loan mechanisms, as adopted

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by SEWA in Gujarat, targeted at the poor andsustained by beneficiary savings for shelterand group guarantees;

• promotion of high-density housing inselected areas in cities through appropriateamendments to zoning and land-useregulations to obviate costly land acquisitionand high infrastructure costs;

• adoption of small-lot zoning in parts of large-lot layouts, making it mandatory on the partof developers to divide part of the land beingdeveloped into small plots and make themavailable to the poor;

• promotion of rental housing through thebalancing of landowner and tenant interestsso that a supply of housing at affordable rentsis ensured and there is an incentive forpeople to build houses for themselves andfor others;

• propagation of cost-effective and eco-friendly building materials and technologies,and up-scaling of innovative products tomake them marketable and amenable formass application; and

• making municipalities responsible forprograms of poverty alleviation and slumimprovement in urban areas and formobilizing local support and effort.

ANDREW REGALADONational Director, Habitat for HumanityPhilippines Foundation, Inc.

Habitat for Humanity Philippines (HFHP) is thenational affiliate of Habitat for HumanityInternational (HFHI), a housing movementdedicated to the vision of eliminating poverty-typehousing and homelessness from the face of the earthby building houses with and for the lowest 30

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percent of the income-generating strata. HFHI’sultimate purpose is to put shelter in the hearts andminds of people in such a powerful way thatpoverty-type housing and homelessness becomesocially, politically, and morally unacceptable.

Millard and Linda Fuller established HFHIin the US in 1976 as a privately funded andvolunteer-led organization. It came to thePhilippines in 1988. As of December 1999, HFHIhad built a total of 60,000 homes around the world,including 2,776 units in the Philippines. Another2,000 homes will be built through different programsin 2000 in the Philippines alone. This effort is inturn part of a larger one that is targeted at building atotal of 20,000 homes by 2005.

Programs

Part of HFHP’s success is based on a pioneeringsystem it has developed and perfected over theyears, which uses both traditional andunconventional means to perpetuate a self-sustaining housing program with the poor.

First, HFHP solicits and accepts traditionaldonations, such as cash and gifts, as well asdonations of construction materials. Thesedonations go into a fund, which we call "Fund forHumanity", and which is used to pay for theconstruction of the housing units.

Second, HFHP is able to lower constructioncosts through volunteer labor and this is whereHabitat’s system is unique. Volunteers are invitedto work side by side with home-partner families andno skills are required for this feat. HFHP also makesuse of a concept called "sweat equity". Sweat equityis a novel concept in which prospectivehomeowners are required to put in at least 400person-hours of construction work in building theirown house and that of their neighbors.

Volunteers areinvited to workside by sidewith home-partner familiesand no skills arerequired for thisfeat.

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Finally, and most significant, home-partnersare not given the houses. They are required to payfor the cost of the construction in installmentpayments, on a nonprofit, no interest basis, over along period with an inclusion of an inflation clause.Their payments, in turn, go back into the Fund forHumanity.

These payment terms instill discipline, rigor,and a sense of responsibility in the lives of the home-partners and also allow them to contribute to a fundthat is used to help others in building a home withanother family in need. And this makes them trulya part of the whole HFHP. That is the reason whythey are called "home-partners" rather than"beneficiaries", and why it is "building with peoplein need" rather than "building for people in need".These home-partners are oriented on the works ofHFHP and are also trained in capacity building.

Family Selection

HFHP selection criteria are that the family must

• belong in the lowest 30 percent of theeconomic strata;

• have the capacity and willingness to pay forthe house;

• be a member of the target organization orcommunity that is being housed;

• have no capability to borrow from anyfunding agency;

• not have any real property;• be from the informal sector; and• be willing to partner with HFHP through

rendering sweat equity and participating inits programs.

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Affiliate Formation

HFHP adopts affiliate development as a key strategyto create awareness and support in eradicatingpoverty housing all over the country. An affiliate isan independent Habitat for Humanity organizationthat is duly registered in the Securities and ExchangeCommission. It has its own constitution, by-laws,and board of trustees. The affiliation process hassix basic stages, and usually takes six to twelvemonths depending on the commitment of the coregroup in an area. There are currently 16 affiliates inthe Philippines.

Operations Development

Affordability. HFHP’s responsibility as a nonprofitorganization is to determine what a simple, decent,affordable, and healthy house is and build it.Although it is HFHP’s role to help determine thedesign of the house, HFHP also takes intoconsideration the important elements that make ahouse a livable one. In the Philippines NationalCapital Region, the cost of the house must notexceed P85,000 (about US$2,000) including laborand administrative expenses, with a repaymentschedule of 15 years. This cost may be lower inother HFH projects outside the Region. Skilledlaborers are employed to supervise the construction,although hiring is kept to the minimum due to theparticipation of individuals as volunteers and thehome-partner families rendering "sweat equity",which lowers the labor aspect of the house cost.

Sustainability. The repayment scheme through therevolving Fund for Humanity sustains the programon a long-term basis. Also, the inclusion of aninflation clause conforms to the house-for-a-houseconcept. This concept enables one family to paythe cost of one house after 15 years that will be

In thePhilippinesNationalCapital Region,the cost of thehouse must notexceed P85,000(aboutUS$2,000).

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built with another family in need. At present, theaverage repayment rate of all the affiliates in thePhilippines is 70 percent, with a target of 85 percent.These repayments stay within the affiliate to be usedin the construction of more houses and in thebuilding of more communities.

Providing the community a "sense ofownership" of the project also affects thesustainability of the program. Families areempowered by having the opportunity to decide onthe process of construction of their homes. Theycan choose a house design that is feasible,affordable, and decent. A homeowners’ associationis also organized, which helps in the collection ofthe monthly amortization and in the implementationof the programs.

Challenges. Since the members of the HFHP andaffiliate boards of trustees are volunteers, their timeand commitment with HFHP is not on a full-timebasis. It is important that each affiliate hire staff todo the administrative and day-to-day works of theprograms.

It is inevitable that problems within thecommunity arise, especially with the diversebackground of the home-partner families. HFHPprovides a venue for them to interact throughteambuilding activities, value formation seminars,and other community-related projects.

Project Development

Initiatives. The program of HFHP received atremendous boost through the 16th Jimmy CarterWork Project (JCWP) in 1999. Former US PresidentJimmy Carter started lending his name to Habitatfor Humanity in 1984 through the annualinternational Habitat event. Carter, together with hiswife Rosalynn, came to the Philippines to buildhomes with 14,000 volunteers, including 2,500

Families areempowered byhaving theopportunity todecide on theprocess ofconstruction oftheir homes.

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volunteers from 32 other countries. In that week,these volunteers in six sites built a record of 293new homes across the country. This special projecthas resulted in a wider donor and volunteer base,better name recall, and inquiries for affiliation fromall over the country.

But with a housing need of 4.2 million units,HFHP is driven to expand its programs. With thesuccess of the JCWP ’99, HFHP thought of sustainingthe interest of the public by involving the youth.Thus, the Youth Build 2000 project was launched.This project is to lay the groundwork for the CampusChapters and Youth Programs (CCYP) of Habitat forHumanity. The project uses school and youth groupsas volunteers in building houses.

Pilot Projects. Aside from special events, HFHPventures into new endeavors through pilot projects.A very distinctive one is the integration of Christiansand Muslims in one community in the Iligan Cityaffiliate. With the principle of inclusiveness anddiversity, HFHP hopes that this model communitywill help build peace in the war-torn Mindanao area.

Partnerships

HFHP has partnered with different churches, civicorganizations, NGOs, schools, youth groups,corporations, government units and agencies,international groups and linkages, nationalgovernment alliances, communities, and individualsin many ways.

The most common way is through fieldingvolunteers to the different HFH affiliates. Some alsosupport in the material and financial needs and otherbasic facilities and services through donations andin-kind gifts. Other partners help in theestablishment of livelihood projects to sustain thecommunity.

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HFHP’s latest milestone is partnership withthe National Housing Authority (NHA) and LGUs.A memorandum of agreement in 1999 betweenHFHP and NHA makes the latter responsible for landacquisition, site development, submission of the listof bona fide families, coordination with the LGU,securing government permits, and assistance intraining and livelihood projects. HFHP determinesqualified home-partners, constructs houses with theprospected homeowners, and helps value formationof the selected home-partners.

SOMSOOK BOONYABANCHASecretary General, Asian Coalition for HousingRights and Managing Director, Urban CommunityDevelopment Office, Thailand

A report from the Asian Coalition for Housing RightsEviction Watch Program revealed that during 1996-1997, about 254,000 families (about 1.5 millionpeople) were evicted from their homes in Asiancities, and another 2.2 million people were underimminent danger of eviction. For most people livingin poor communities, eviction poses the most severethreat to their daily lives, and has manyconsequences:

• destruction of intricate social and survivalnetworks;

• destruction of life savings and family assets;• increased cost of living;• destabilized household economies; and• worsening conditions of poverty.

When eviction is followed by resettlementin state-planned relocation colonies on the fringeof the city, many people find these places too farfrom jobs, schools, and survival networks and optto find a place in another slum nearby. After eviction,

For most peopleliving in poorcommunities,eviction posesthe most severethreat to theirdaily lives.

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many end up as informal renters in nearby slums,where their living expenses are even higher, andtheir security in life several notches lower. In effect,the overall problem of the city has not been solved,but made worse.

The Need for a New Approach

There is a need for a new vision for urban poorhousing development in the new millennium. In pastdecades, cities did not understand their ownuncontrollable development situation and werereluctant to accept all the poor as bona fide citizens.Thus, problems were solved on an ad-hoc basis. Amore comprehensive approach is needed, whichcan be adjusted and integrated into each city inorder to achieve authentic community and housingdevelopment at scale.

One approach to this is for the city to makethe urban poor groups active partners in the citydevelopment process and gradual housingdevelopment. However, it is necessary that the citydevelops new attitudes towards the poor, acquiresnew skills to listen and understand the poor, anduses their strengths in the development process. Thecity should also change its role from that of an"authority" to a facilitator in building the power fordevelopment using all city partners, especially thepoor. Many attempts to launch this new approachhave failed because the institutions concernedretained their conventional attitudes. Finally, the cityshould create new collaborative spaces for variouscity development efforts, including housing for thepoor that will allow relevant actors to work togetherharmoniously and productively. This paperelaborates on these views and provides someexamples from Thailand.

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Key Elements of the New Approach

Following are some of the key elements of theapproach.

• Find ways to work in which the poor becomethe subject of the housing developmentproject, not the object. The poor mustbecome the active agents of development,at the center of the process, not the recipientsor beneficiaries of somebody else’s idea orproject.

• Include all poor people who live in the city.Successful planning must accept the realityof the poor’s need to exist and work in thecity. The poor may have different status andlegitimacy, but it is a matter of understandingand finding different ways to work on aprocess of inclusion, not exclusion.

• Make use of participatory housingdevelopment processes as a means oflegitimization, inclusion, and learning for thepoor and for all parties involved.

• Major planning and development activitiesand their implementation in the city shouldbe decided on and managed through apartnership of local development actors suchas the city administration, NGOs, and urbanpoor federations. This partnership shouldwork together as a team to deal withdevelopment processes and other relatedinstitutions.

• All possible resources should be channeledto support this local, collaborative processto address city-wide housing developmentproblems.

• The roles of central governmentorganizations should be changed to facilitateand support the partnership betweenmunicipalities and urban poor organizations

The poor mustbecome theactive agents ofdevelopment, atthe center of theprocess.

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instead of following the old, unworkablepattern of centrally planned, implemented,and controlled decision making.

A Comprehensive Development Process

Following are some possible directions fordevelopment according to the new approachproposed above. This process could be initiated inany Asian city, beginning with small-scale simpleactivities and leading to city-wide processes. Withsupport from national development organizations,the process can move much easier and faster, butany city can proceed without this national backingthrough extensive coordination with otherconcerned organizations. The process can bedeveloped through the following seven steps, whichare described in detail below:

1. starting the process of community savingsand credit activities;

2. networking of urban poor communities;3. city-wide survey of all urban poor

communities;4. supporting community development

activities;5. planning for housing solutions for all urban

poor settlements in the city;6. learning about diverse housing

development options; and7. development of credit for housing

development.

1. Starting the Process of CommunitySavings and Credit Activities

Community-managed savings and creditprograms have emerged as one of the most powerfultools for drawing together the many people anddisparate groups that exist within poor communities.

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Because they are controlled and operated bycommunity people themselves, savings and creditprograms build a community’s own resource base.People can develop themselves and provide for theirown needs, both individually and collectively,through the ongoing process of regular, concretedecisions that are inherent in collective managementof a savings and credit program. This process isgrounded on daily services, is quick and simple,and relates to the real daily needs of the urbanpoor—as defined by the poor themselves.

Savings and credit activities also create anongoing process for the community members tolearn about each other’s lives, how to managetogether, and how to relate to outside systems withbetter financial strength that will enable them toachieve more than their daily needs. This meansthat the poor can enjoy the pride that comes frombeing owners of a process, not merely recipientswaiting for mercy from outside. And if thesecommunity processes can link up with a good creditsystem, poor communities will be able to accessformal financial resources in order to support theirown development process, which they can manage.

2. Networking of Urban Poor Communities

Experiences in several Asian countries showthat scattered and small-scale savings and creditgroups, when they develop further and becomemore mature, are likely to link to other groups andform networks with some kind of connectedfinancial base. These larger collaborations providegroups with access to greater financial resources,knowledge, and enhanced clout when negotiatingfor basic needs. They also lead to furthercollaboration and networking. This process haspolitical implications, since the stronger status oflarge networks makes it possible for the poor to dealwith larger, structural issues related to their

The poor canenjoy the pridethat comes frombeing owners ofa process.

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problems—issues that were beyond their capacitybefore.

It is important that community networks beorganized from the bottom up, from the smallestconstituency acting as the base to link with largerconstituencies. In Thailand, community networksbegin by linking communities in the same districtor city, then link together at provincial, regional,and national levels. There are also communitynetworks that link with each other around the samecommon development issues, such as networks ofcommunities located on state railway land,communities along canals, or communities linkedby shared enterprises or welfare activities.

3. City-wide Survey of all Urban PoorCommunities

The purpose of a city-wide survey of poorcommunities is to gather overall information aboutthe lives and living conditions of the urban poor.Such a survey also makes an effective communitynetwork builder, since the surveying processinvolves making many new contacts with urbanpoor groups around the city. The survey processgives the poor a rigorous tool for understanding,learning about, and comparing the differentsituations in which they live. After the survey, thecommunity network can help new groups toorganize and start community saving and creditactivities as well as other necessary developmentactivities. Apart from that, a survey will provide well-rounded information on the urban poor in the cityas the basis for further development and planning.

4. Supporting Community DevelopmentActivities

Housing development among all urban poorgroups in the city will take time to plan and achieve.

It is importantthat communitynetworks beorganized fromthe bottom up.

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Meanwhile, the city can develop a "communitydevelopment fund" that poor communities can tapto implement proposals for their own developmentactivities. The experience of the Urban CommunityEnvironment Activities and the Urban CommunityDevelopment Office in Thailand has been that theprovision of a community environment fund notexceeding US$25,000 per city per year has enabledpoor communities to work together on a wide rangeof community development projects. It has provento be a simple, cheap means to city-wide communitydevelopment and stronger community networks.

5. Planning for Housing Solutions for allUrban Poor Settlements in the City

After the survey, several workshops should beheld to share the information and start developinghousing solutions that work for all urban poorsettlements.

One example of this process can be found inthe city of Nakhon Sawan in central Thailand. Theprocess started with a community survey conductedby the community network, carried out in all urbanpoor settlements in the city in the beginning of 1999.They found 47 slum communities, in which aboutone third of the city’s residents live. Shortly afterthe survey, meetings were held with officials fromthe municipality and the National HousingAuthority, in which all the surveyed settlements werelegally recognized and formally linked to thedevelopment process. All 47 settlements are nowin the process of organizing themselves and settingup savings activities.

Land tenure conditions in all the settlementswere then examined and inventoried. It was agreedthat all communities that can stay in the same placeshould be improved—in terms of their occupationstatus and security of tenure, and in terms of theirphysical environment—and that community

Provision of acommunityenvironmentfund hasenabled poorcommunities towork togetheron a wide rangeof communitydevelopmentprojects.

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residents should work together to plan theseimprovements. The settlements that for variousreasons were less secure in their current locationswould be moved to a large piece of unusedgovernment land in the city to build a newresettlement community, with new social andenvironment conditions planned by the residents.Careful coordination with the Provincial Governorand the Provincial Unit of the national TreasuryDepartment throughout the land negotiation processmade for this positive result.

Another detailed family survey in thosecommunities intending to shift to this new land wasfollowed by a series of workshops to plan out allaspects of the new community—layout,infrastructure, construction management, etc. Afterthe relocation plan is approved, the NationalHousing Authority will include the project in theirdevelopment plan to be implemented accordingly.

As shown in the example of Nakhon Sawan,the process of housing planning should be highlyparticipatory. If the urban poor can first worktogether to understand the status and conditions oftheir current land and housing, they will be in amuch better position to propose improvements totheir communities or relocate to more securesettlements elsewhere. Each community would haveits own plan, and when all these community plansare put together, we could have a rough city-widehousing plan for all urban poor groups. This city-wide plan could be developed by the urban poorthemselves, with some support from thedevelopment agencies, municipality, andgovernment.

6. Learning about Diverse HousingDevelopment Options

There are several technical alternatives forhousing development. For many cities, "housing

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development" only means relocation and buildinghigh-rise apartments. In fact, there are many otheroptions that have been tried and proven in Asiancities. Some of these follow.

• On-site community improvement. This is byfar the best, cheapest, and easiest way topreserve community systems and maintaindevelopment from the past that can be linkedwith the future. Many urban communitieslook dilapidated and unhealthy mainlybecause there is no security of land tenure.With proper assistance, simple, culturally-appropriate, creatively-built, diverse formsof housing will automatically appear,forming the community’s own physicalidentity in the city.

• Land-sharing. In communities underimmediate threat of eviction or to make wayfor necessary city development projects, oneof the first options to consider is land-sharing.Land-sharing offers a way between a formerslum community and a particular landlordor city development to "share" land by meansof compromising.

• Reconstruction and redevelopment. Anotheroption is to redevelop the former slum orurban poor area and to provide housingoptions for residents within the newdevelopment area. However, since privatedevelopers usually control mostdevelopment of this type, community peopletend to be made "recipients" of the project,and are often unable to stay on. Only whenthere is careful discussion and thoroughparticipation of the communities in theplanning process can such redevelopmentoptions work for the needs of the poor.

• Land exchange and land readjustment.Land readjustment, due to new encroaching

In communitiesunder immediatethreat ofeviction one ofthe first optionsto consider island-sharing.

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roads or infrastructure, usually requiresconsiderable negotiation to determine theright extent and nature of adjustment orexchange of land, and offers a way for urbanpoor housing to find its proper place in theprocess of such exchange and readjustment.Municipalities can coordinate with cityplanning offices or take the role of arbitratingnegotiations with affected landlords so thatthe latter can benefit from the newdevelopment, and be persuaded to agreewith the adjustment plans before finalizingthe road route or new infrastructure.

• Removal to nearby public land. In casethere is no other option but to remove apoor community from the land it occupies,a search for nearby public land can beundertaken jointly by the community andthe city. This way, the communities canstay in the vicinity, thus maintaining theireconomic and social relationships as muchas possible.

• Searching for possible public land to bedeveloped for urban poor housing. The cityshould try to find available public land indifferent locations around the city in orderto start building a "stock" of land for urbanpoor housing. Some cities have such stockswritten into their development plans; manydo not. In the past, keeping aside adequateurban land for low-income housingdevelopment was not included in the prioritylist of most governments, so the problem isnot a lack of land, per se, but a lack ofcommitment to supplying land for low-income housing. Municipalities tend to takelittle responsibility for dealing with housingor searching for land for housing, creating areal land vacuum in most Asian cities. Inalmost all cases, there is plenty of unused

The problem isnot a lack ofland, per se, buta lack ofcommitment tosupplying landfor low-incomehousing.

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land available for this purpose under variousownership.

• Getting the private sector and real estatesector involved. In some countries, there isa policy that every housing developmentproject by a private developer must includea certain proportion of units for urban poorfamilies. Although the implementation of thispolicy may be questionable, it providesanother possible option in using thedevelopment and financial strength of theprivate sector to deliver more housing forthe urban poor. Most cities in the region tendto give the private sector too much freedomand too many incentives in choices ofdevelopment for profit alone. We do notorganize this sector properly or utilize itscapacity and strength as an active partner indelivering urban poor housing that has urbanpoor participation and consent.

• City planning. The city should activelyinvolve more people in its planning to finda balance between housing and other citydevelopment activities. Most city planningactivities are controlled by central planningorganizations or technicians who havenothing to do with the real activities in thecity. Furthermore, city planning today alwaysconcentrates on generating economicopportunities, planning for profit, andplanning for blind economic growth ratherthan concentrating on the well-being,housing, and environment of the city and itspeople.

7. Development of Credit for HousingDevelopment

In the absence of viable housing anddevelopment institutions for the poor, the financial

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mechanisms and community processes that aredeveloped through community savings and creditgroups have important roles to play. Savings andcredit groups and networks provide an alternativesystem where much-needed financial resources fordevelopment can directly flow to the target urbanpoor groups in the form of credit, and in ways thatcan be managed by the people themselves. Theimportant considerations should be the forms andconditions of the credit in order to relate to theaffordability level, the way of life of the poor, theparticular development subjects such as incomegeneration, and the powerful external market.

Housing development funds or flexible typesof housing credit allow flexible community housingdevelopment activities to take place in projects ofvarious size, location, housing type, affordability,and situation suitable to the particular poorcommunity.

The major role of credit for habitat is to supportthe people’s own housing process, and furtherstrengthen the existing potential in an organizedway. The city can develop this fund with supportfrom central government agencies that allow theprocess to work more at the city level. The city canalso establish links with banks or other financialdevelopment agencies. However, it is best if the cityand urban partners can establish their own urbanpoor development fund as a focal resource forfacilitating city urban poor housing and other relateddevelopment activities.

The importantconsiderationsshould be theforms andconditions ofthe credit.

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Improving Service Delivery to the Poor

VIII. IMPROVING SERVICE

VIII. DELIVERY TO THE POOR

This session included description of a uniqueapproach to improving municipal servicesand the results of a survey that highlights the

delivery problems in two cities.Dr. Naved Hamid described the process and

achievements of the ADB Benchmarking Project,which was launched in mid-1998 to pilot test theuse of benchmarking and continuous improvementin selected Asian municipalities to improve thedelivery of six services.

The project has demonstrated thatbenchmarking can be successfully applied toidentify improvement potential and help drivechange. However, governments are quite oftenreluctant to introduce objectivity into the system,document processes as they exist, and measureperformance. The prerequisite for benchmarking tosucceed, as in all other municipal practices, is thepolitical will and commitment of the city managers.

Mr. Rabial Mallick described the results of aReport Card survey for assessing municipalperformance, carried out in New Delhi and Calcutta.The findings reflect the inability of municipal bodiesto cope with poverty and its various manifestations.The weak financial position of municipal institutionsand the inefficient manner in which finances aremanaged were highlighted as a major impedimentto effective governance.

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NAVED HAMID1

Senior EconomistAsian Development Bank

Providing affordable, comprehensive, and good-quality municipal services to increasing numbersof urban residents is a major challenge faced bymost city managers today. Most often, cities do nothave the commensurate resources to deliver theseservices, which used to be the responsibility ofcentral governments. Cities also face the problemsof squalor, congested traffic, deterioratinginfrastructure facilities, disillusioned communities,and often, political unrest.

All these challenges drive municipalities toreinvent their systems and processes. In doing so,they are borrowing change strategies that haveproven successful in the private sector andincreasingly have been picked up by the publicsector. Two change strategies that have beensuccessfully used in the private sector and by manylocal governments in the USA, Australia, and otherOECD countries are benchmarking and continuousimprovement.

Since these techniques have not been usedin developing countries, ADB decided to pilot-testtheir application in selected Asian cities as tools forimproving the delivery of municipal services.

1 An earlier draft of this paper was presented at the East Asia Urbanand City Management Course, 1-14 May 2000, Singapore,organized by the World Bank Development Institute and NationalUniversity of Singapore. The paper is based on the experience ofADB’s regional technical assistance (RETA) on EnhancingMunicipal Service Delivery Capability. The inputs from RETAconsultants Bob Hood, Bryn Campbell, and Mildred Villareal inthe preparation of this paper are gratefully acknowledged.

Two changestrategies thathave beensuccessfullyused in theprivate sectorand bymany localgovernmentsare benchmarkingand continuousimprovement.

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What are Benchmarking and ContinuousImprovement?

Benchmarking may be described as a process thataims to stimulate improvement through comparisonsof services, processes, and performance betweenorganizations. The comparison is made on the basisof key performance indicators that cover, forexample, the timeliness of the service, the qualityof the service, customer satisfaction, and cost orprice of the service.

There are two types2 of benchmarking thatcan be applied in the public sector. The first isinternal benchmarking, which involves comparisonof similar operations or functions within the sameorganization, with the objective of sharingknowledge from one successful part of theorganization to another. It is commonly used bymultinationals or multisite organizations because itallows them to determine their internal performance,identify their best internal procedures, and thentransfer them to other sections of the organization.The second type is process or genericbenchmarking, which involves a comparison ofspecific processes with those in the "best"organizations, in order to identify innovations.Customer service is particularly suited to this typeof benchmarking, as well as general processes likepayroll, accounts payable, personnel management,and computer operations.

Benchmarking requires trained staff toconduct the necessary analyses of existing practices,identify performance indicators to assess serviceperformance, and develop proposals for change.Service staff must be involved in the benchmarkingprocess so that they develop the commitment to

2 Elmuti and Kathawala. 1997. An Overview of Benchmarking: ATool for Continuous Improvement and Competitive Advantage.Benchmarking for Quality Management and Technology 4(4).http://www.mcb.co.uk

Benchmarkingrequires trainedstaff to conductthe necessaryanalyses ofexistingpractices,identifyperformanceindicators toassess serviceperformance,and developproposals forchange.

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change and improve on the existing practices. It alsoachieves greater success if it is conducted withinthe context of a continuous improvement strategyrather than a once-only initiative.

Continuous improvement describes anorganization’s operating culture, in which it isalways seeking ways of improving its products,services, and performance of management and staff.It involves everyone in the organization, from theCEO to the front-line operator. The focus of theorganization is on meeting the needs of thecustomers; and regular feedback from them is acritical factor for continuously improving theorganization.

The Benchmarking Project

The ADB Benchmarking Project to pilot-test the useof benchmarking and continuous improvement inthe delivery of public services, began in August19983 in 10 selected municipalities. The project wasalso intended to create an active network of citiesfor exchanging information on the benchmarkedservices as well as urban issues that mayors andcity managers were concerned about.

The Benchmarking Coordinators

Traditionally, organizations attempt to achievechange by hiring consultants but this has thedownside that it often fails to achieve sufficientskills transfer and change ownership. For the ADBinitiative, selected municipal staff were chosento lead the benchmarking and continuousimprovement program in their respectivemunicipalities. Given their knowledge of the

3 An introduction to the ADB Benchmarking Project, with detailsof municipalities and partners involved, appeared in Volume 4 ofthis series (Asian Cities in the 21st Century: ContemporaryApproaches to Municipal Management).

Continuousimprovementdescribes anorganization’soperatingculture, inwhich it isalways seekingways ofimproving itsproducts,services, andperformance ofmanagementand staff.

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municipality’s scope of services, personnel,culture, problems, and systems, they would bemuch more effective agents of change thanconsultants. Moreover, their participation withother cities’ coordinators would provide them withan ongoing network of professional colleaguesthat would enable them and their municipalityto apply these techniques in the future. Thesepersons were designated as BenchmarkingCoordinators and two were chosen from eachparticipating municipality.

Applying Benchmarking to City Services

Two services were chosen for the first round (Round1) of benchmarking and continuous improvement:resolution of customer complaints and publicgrievance, and solid waste management, education,and enforcement. Two other services, property taxassessment and parking regulation, were studied inRound 2. These services were selected becauseimprovements in them would be evident to cityresidents and would not require much capitalexpenditure.

The Benchmarking and ContinuousImprovement Cycle

The ADB Benchmarking Project was seen as aprocess that consists of five steps as represented inFigure VIII.1. The first step was laying thefoundations of the project. The second step entailedforming and training teams, defining and measuringprocesses, and fixing the problems that had obvioussolutions. The third step involved comparingprocesses and performances with those in othercities, analyzing differences, and identifying betterpractices. The fourth step called for establishingcauses and developing new solutions. The last stepwas carrying out the improvement proposals

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approved by the steering committee4 and sustainingthese improvements. These steps are detailed below.

4 The steering committee was made up of several representativesfrom different levels of the municipality and usually chaired bythe mayor, deputy mayor or the most senior municipal manager.Its authority extended to all activities and decisions concerningthe project, including the resources to be allocated during projectimplementation.

Figure VIII.1 The Benchmarking and Continuous Improvement Cycle

Step 1: Laying the Foundations

This stage involved setting up communications withthe municipalities, forming the oversight steeringcommittee in each municipality, getting theircommitment, allocating resources for the

SustainSustain

Implement Implement

Innovate

Benchmark

Analyze

Facilitate

EstablishCauses

DevelopSolutions

IdentifyBest

Practice

AnalyzeDifferences

EstablishPartners

Fix theObvious

MeasureProcesses

DefineProcesses

FormTeams

AttitudeCommuni-

cationsSkillsCoordination/Facilitation

Resour-ces

Commit-ment

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implementation of the project, confirming theoverall project plan, and a two-week training sessionfor the Benchmarking Coordinators.

Step 2: Analyzing the Current Process

After their training, the Benchmarking Coordinatorsrecruited teams for the first two services. Theytrained these teams (drawn from the servicesconcerned and not from management) on thetechniques and led them to define and map theprocesses of selected services; collect performancedata or indicators for benchmarking; and analyzedata and identify areas in which the delivery ofservices could be improved.

a. Defining the Scope of the Service.Municipalities were expected to examinesimilar service processes, so it was importantto adopt common definitions. Reliance on aone-line service description would inevitablyfrustrate later comparisons. To achieve ashared view of what the services meant, theCoordinators used a service definitionworksheet that provided for a generaldescription of the service, service outputs,service customers, service goals, servicestandards, and current performance.

b. Process Mapping. A process map is aflowchart of the activities that make up thedelivery of a service. Process mapping is thefirst step in understanding how a service isdelivered. Once a process is mapped it canbe critically analyzed to identifyopportunities to improve it by simplifying,error proofing, or even developing anentirely new process.

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The Benchmarking Coordinators and teamsprepared process maps for each service delivery.Initially, the teams found it difficult to prepare theprocess maps, mainly in deciding upon the level ofdetail to map and in extracting information on theexact activities in their current services. Too muchdetail makes the benchmarking process timeconsuming and confusing. Too little detail frustratesthe task of identifying the improvement possibilities.Practice makes perfect; it was reasonable to expectthat teams would gradually develop their judgementon the level of detail required for effectivebenchmarking. Detailed process maps for theservices being examined were presented during theRegional Benchmarking Coordinators’ Workshopheld in Kuantan, Malaysia, in April 1999.

c. Performance Measures. For benchmarkingto be effective, there has to be a right setof performance measures for all theservices. Performance measures provide ameans of comparing services across citiesand indicate the success or failure of thechanges implemented. Also, they can beused to recognize and reward staffachievements.

The Benchmarking Coordinators and teamscollected performance measures for the first twoservices on the basis of timeliness, quality, cost orprice of the service, and customer satisfaction foreach service. It would be fair to say that the cities inthis project have hardly any systems of performanceindicators. They may have information on "activitylevels", but not on time spent or expenditure on theactivity. All the cities needed assistance in definingperformance measures. Consultants provided themwith definitions and methods for collectinginformation on performance.

For benchmarkingto be effective,there has to bea right set ofperformancemeasures for allthe services.

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Step 3: Making Comparisons with Partners

The process information was regularly sharedthrough E-mail and also during the two regionalworkshops for Benchmarking Coordinators, the firstin Kuantan, and the other in Melbourne, Australia,in October 1999.

During the Kuantan workshop, theBenchmarking Coordinators shared data, ideas, andexperiences, and compiled their assessments of bestpractices (Table VIII.1), which stimulated a livelydiscussion among the Coordinators and enabledthem to analyze the weaknesses and opportunitiesfor improvements in their own municipalities.

In the Melbourne Workshop, the Bench-marking Coordinators presented the recommend-ations and changes for Round 1 subjects, and thefindings and best practice features for Round 2 subjects.They visited several Melbourne municipalities towitness practices and meet practitioners ofbenchmarking and continuous improvement.

Step 4: Generating Better Services

Observing a practice in one municipality triggeredthe process of change in other municipalities. Inaddition, the comparisons between municipalitiesserved as the basis for the teams to review all theavailable information, investigate the potential rootcauses of their problems, and identify improvementsthat could be made in the existing services. In somecases, improvement proposals by teams were drawnfrom the best practices identified in the Kuantanworkshop rather than a fully developed criticalanalysis including measurement comparisons. Insuch cases, the Coordinators were advised to lookbeyond the best practice comparisons and to usethe full information available. The improvementproposals made by the teams were presented to theirsteering committee for approval and support.

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Step 5: Bringing About Change

Once the steering committee approved theimprovement proposals, the teams committedthemselves to a timetable, assigned responsibilities,and implemented the plans. They also presentedthe plans to concerned employees in order to buildenthusiasm and support for the new goals. However,

Table VIII.1. Best Practices of Cities in Two Municipal Services

Cities

Bangalore, India

Cebu City,Philippines

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Kuantan, Malaysia

Shanghai, PRC

Bandung,Semarang, andSurabaya,Indonesia

CustomerComplaintsResolution

• Access throughzone offices

• Daily radioprogram

• Public Day

• Weekly report tothe CEO

• Radio feedback tothe public

• United action• One-call solution• 110 hotline

• Satu Atap (One-roof, one-stopshop) for permitprocessing

Education

• Training for wastehandlers

• Educationprograms inschools

• Street and TVdramas

• Health educationas prerequisite forissuance of healthlicense

• Waste separationat source

• Recycling• Solid waste

education leaflets

• Adipura Awards asa nationalincentive

• Education leafletsin Surabaya

• "K-3" program inSemarang

Enforcement

• Individuals andCBOs deputizedto enforce thelaw and issuecitation tickets

• Annual refreshertraining courses

• Neighborhoodwatch

Solid Waste Management

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several municipalities were not able to implementimprovement proposals as planned due to variousproblems, discussed in the next section.

The successful municipalities implementedchanges that increased customer orientation,improved quality and coverage of services, andenhanced revenues; customer complaints resolutionhas dramatically improved by such measures aspublic assistance centers, telephone hotlines forcomplaint lodgment, training customer complaintstaff, daily radio programs to air complaints andprovide feedback, and monitoring complaints allthe way to their resolution.

In solid waste education and enforcement,the innovative practices adopted includeddevelopment of education programs for schoolchildren; waste separation by residents; dailycollection of domestic solid waste with supportinginformation, education, and communicationcampaigns; and deputizing individuals and CBOsto issue citation tickets and impose on-the-spot fineson offenders. Some municipalities have started touse vacant lots as paid parking spaces, erected newparking signs to ease the flow of traffic, and revisedparking regulations. Also, significant opportunitiesfor increasing revenues from property tax emerged.

Implementation Issues and Challenges

Only a few municipalities were able to achievesignificant improvements in service delivery due tovarious issues that affected implementation. Mostof these issues were common across municipalitiesand also occur in other public organizations andoften in the private sector. In summary, they wereas follows.

Lack of Commitment. Most Benchmarking Coor-dinators experienced difficulty in getting thecommitment of their teams because of such factors

Customercomplaintsresolution hasdramaticallyimproved.

Significantopportunitiesfor increasingrevenues fromproperty taxemerged.

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as workload, other priority work as demanded bythe immediate supervisor, and absence of tangiblebenefits for the team members.

Resistance to Change. Any effort to change is metwith some form of resistance or adverse reactionfrom those who are directly affected by the change.For instance, the affected municipal staff did notwant to cooperate in implementing the change forfear that they would be displaced in their jobs, orworse, lose their jobs.

Lack of Top Management Support. To ensure thesupport of the mayor and the steering committee,letters were sent to the mayors regularly, informingthem about the project’s progress and achievements,and mayors were invited to the annual Asian mayors’forums. However, in a number of cities the supportprovided by the mayor/steering committee wasinadequate.

Coordinator Incapacity and Discontinuity. Since theCoordinators and work-based teams were notfamiliar with technical subjects in the project,particularly process mapping and performancemeasurements, the consultants conducted follow-up training for the teams during a second round ofcity visits. They also worked with the Coordinatorsto capture the correct data and define relevantperformance measures. However, the Coordinators’lack of experience in the subject severely limitedtheir capacity and confidence to get their teams todocument all the improvement opportunitiesavailable. Also, several cities did not sustaincontinuity in Coordinators.

Inadequate Information. Information systems variedsignificantly across cities. Some cities did not haveinformation about individual services; if they hadthem, they were not updated and difficult to

In a number ofcities thesupportprovided by themayor/steeringcommittee wasinadequate.

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measure. The issue of defining and acquiringperformance measures was an ongoing challengethat required extensive support by the consultantsduring their various city visits.

Weak Communications Across Cities. Languagedifferences between the cities, and between thecities and the consultants caused difficulties,especially during the training, sharing of experiencesin the regional workshops, and crosscommunications. As the process called forcomparison between cities and regular consultationwith consultants, more time had to be allowed thanplanned for cities to make their comparisons beforethe regional workshops, and in the discussion ofexperiences and best practices during theworkshops. Also, key training materials weretranslated into Bahasa Indonesia and Mandarinthrough the initiatives of Indonesian cities andShanghai.

Differences in City Size and Service Standards.Differences in scale and standards of the servicesresulting from the different sizes of the project citiesprevented some cities from adopting or adaptingvarious practices that worked well in other cities.This is a factor that will have to be taken intoconsideration in establishing future benchmarkingpartnerships.

Networking

An important by-product of the project was theestablishment of networks focused on drivingchange and improving quality of urban services.Apart from electronic exchanges and participationof the Benchmarking Coordinators in the regionalworkshops, the mayors had the opportunity to meetand exchange information through the Asianmayors’ forums. The project also brought together

An importantby-product ofthe projectwas theestablishmentof networksfocused ondriving changeand improvingquality of urbanservices.

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several donor agencies that are active in the urbanareas of Asia. The partners included the UrbanManagement Programme of UNDP/UNCHS, whichsponsored Lahore (in Pakistan), and the GermanAgency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), whichsponsored Bandung and Surabaya (in Indonesia).The ADB Institute actively supported the project byorganizing the Mayors’ forums, and funding theirWorld Wide Web (WWW) site, the production oftraining manuals, and publication of projectmaterials.

The project’s WWW site (http://asiancities.benchmarking.acig.com.au/) containsthe latest information on all services beingbenchmarked and links to all participatingmunicipalities and project partners.

Conclusion

The pilot work with municipalities has proven thatbenchmarking can be successfully applied toidentify areas of potential improvement and helpdrive change. Benchmarking and continuousimprovement foster self-help, rather than acontinuance of relying on experts to diagnoseproblems and propose solutions. Although theproject was not intended to provide funds forimproving infrastructure facilities, it has, in fact,helped the cities increase their revenues—forexample, in Bangalore by improving its performancein levying and collecting property taxes, and in Cebuand Colombo by levying higher parking fees as partof their process of improving parking availabilityand traffic flow.

There is of course, no easy solution to a city’sproblems. Even benchmarking and continuousimprovement require effort, dedication, andpersistence. They do, however, offer an exciting,cooperative way of enabling cities to have deeperunderstanding of their processes, to deal better with

Benchmarkingand continuousimprovementfoster self-help,rather than acontinuance ofrelying onexperts todiagnoseproblems andproposesolutions.

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their problems, and to provide affordable and qualityservices to their residents.

RABIAL MALLICKProject Leader, Christian Institute for the Study ofReligion and Society,Calcutta, India

To achieve sustainable development, goodgovernance of cities must focus on eliminatingpoverty, creating jobs and sustaining livelihoods,protecting and regenerating the environment, andadvancing the status and position of women insociety.

Estimates of urban poverty in India indicatethat around 76 million people do not have accessto basic urban services. Any strategy for alleviatingurban poverty has to incorporate schemes forproviding basic services to the urban poor whoreside in slums in the inner cities and peripheralareas of large cities.

With the enactment of the 74th ConstitutionalAmendment, municipal bodies have been bestowedwith a set of responsibilities specially designed tomeet the challenges of poverty reduction andimproving the conditions of the poorer sections ofsociety living in slums and squatter settlements. Withpoor financial health, lack of strategic planning, andlack of a professional approach, it was indeed adifficult task. However, the amendment visualizedthe urban local bodies to become facilitators andguides to formation of effective democraticinstitutions through partnerships with the privatesector and NGOs/CBOs, rather than to remaincentralized controllers.

Estimates ofurban povertyin India indicatethat around 76million peopledo not haveaccess to basicurban services.

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Community Participation

The participation of the community in the work ofthe local government no doubt improves itseconomic, social, and cultural perspectives. Asaccepted the world over, development starts at thegrass-roots level and the initiative, creativity, andenergies of the people can be used to improve theirown cities.

NGOs and CBOs have advantages inmobilizing the community and promotingdevelopment at the grass-roots level. They are goodat reaching and mobilizing the poor and remotecommunities. They use participatory, bottom-up,grass-roots processes in project implementation andhelp the poor to gain control of their lives. They aremore flexible and innovative than governments incarrying out projects. They promote sustainabledevelopment. Finally, they are potentially good atorganizing and representing bodies in civil society.There is acceptance of the fact that as a result oftheir motivation and comparatively small-scaleoperations, NGOs are more adaptable and sensitiveto local conditions. They are more prepared to listento and promote self-reliance in the poor.

Survey

The Christian Institute for the Study of Religion andSociety (CISRS) carried out a survey in Calcutta andDelhi to ascertain the views of a wide sectionof people. The respondents included seniormunicipal officials and representatives of civilsociety groups including NGOs/CBOs, corporateofficials, academic scholars, youth leaders, etc. Thesurvey was conducted on the basis of aquestionnaire supplied by The Urban GovernanceInitiative of UNDP and covered the followingsubjects related to urban governance: participation,rule of law, transparency, responsiveness,

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consensus orientation, equity, effectiveness andefficiency, and accountability.

General observations that emerged fromdiscussions at both Calcutta and Delhi included thefollowing.

• Municipal institutions are not able,adequately and equitably, to provide accessto basic shelter, infrastructure, and servicesto a major segment of the population, mostof whom are the poor.

• The weak financial position of municipalinstitutions and the inefficient manner inwhich their finances are managed constitutea major impediment to effective governance.

• The participation of the private sector inurban development has to be ensured.

• Excessive and misplaced regulations andsystems have acted as a major barrier toproper management of the cities.

• Corruption and indifference of officials andthe lack of public protest to major problemshave been serious impediments.

• The process of democratic decentralization(as envisaged in the 74th Amendment) hasyet to become meaningful and effective.

One may conclude that severe infrastructuredeficiencies; the highly regulated land and propertymarkets (in both cities); the limited financialresources of the local governments; and theinadequate managerial, institutional, and technicalcapacities of local governments have been majorconstraints to the adequate handling of social andeconomic development. Despite the 74th

Amendment, the statutory basis of the role of citiesin promoting social and economic developmentremains unaltered as far as Calcutta and Delhi areconcerned.

Corruption andindifference ofofficials and thelack of publicprotest to majorproblems havebeen seriousimpediments.

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Calcutta Scenario

In greater Calcutta, the slum population is fivemillion or 38.5 percent of the total population of13 million. The slums are concentrated over an areaof 21.35 square kilometers; the population densityis 100,000 inhabitants per square kilometer.

Citizens from all walks of life wereinterviewed to solicit their views on the pattern ofurban governance prevailing in the city. Theseincluded senior municipal and government officials,the Mayor of Calcutta, academic scholars,representatives of NGOs/CBOs, private-sectorofficials, and youth leaders. The major findings areenumerated below:

• Involvement of civil society organizations,specially NGOs and CBOs, in socialdevelopment work has only just started andis definitely not up to desired levels.

• Decentralization in administrativefunctioning has not taken place because,although there may be political will, theattitudinal change to bring about devolutionof powers has not occurred.

• The Calcutta Municipal Corporation has noeffective planning strategy for a major sectionof the poor population, especially those wholive in unregistered slums, squatters, andpavement dwellers.

• The functioning of the municipality is verypoor because of rampant corruption,inefficiency, and lack of sincerity andwillingness to carry out duties and meetresponsibilities.

• Poor financial management and lack ofresources for development work severelyaffect the poor and lower-income groups.

• There is a lack of interest in increasing therevenue base through higher property

Decentralizationin administrativefunctioning hasnot taken placebecauseattitudinalchange to bringaboutdevolution ofpowers has notoccurred.

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taxation, etc., which would provide fundsfor social development and improvement ofbasic services.

• Greater participation of NGOs and CBOsand giving them specific responsibility insocial development work would have apositive effect in improving the conditionsof the city’s poor.

• Involving the private sector in developmentwork would be beneficial.

Delhi Scenario

No other Indian city has grown so phenomenallyas Delhi in the recent past. Being the capital of thecountry and the biggest business center of northernIndia, it attracts a large number of persons from allover India. It is estimated that by the turn of thecentury, Delhi’s population will exceed 14 million.The population density in Delhi is presently around13,464 per square kilometer.

Like in many parts of the country,mushrooming of slums has been a disturbing featureof urban Delhi for nearly five decades. There hasbeen a tremendous proliferation of squattersettlements in Delhi from 1951, when there weresome 12,700 squatter households, to 1994, whenthe number reached 400,000.

Many of the poor are living in jhuggi jhompriclusters, which are informal illegal settlements,mostly on government lands. There have beenseveral attempts at improving these settlements:conversion into a resettlement colony in whichhousing conditions are much better and a minimumof civic amenities are provided on the community-level basis; provision of complexes, containing basicfacilities; and resettlement to small developed plotsfor which affordable loans payable over 15 yearshave been made available by the Delhi CooperativeHousing Finance Society.

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We interviewed a wide spectrum of peopleincluding senior municipal officials, officials fromurban development and planning agencies,representatives of NGOs and CBOs, womenactivists, and the newly elected Mayor of Delhi. Themajor findings follow.

• The lack of financial resources has been animpediment to concentrated work in thesocial sector.

• Corruption and inefficiency have not beenchecked because of lack of sincerity anddedication of officials on the one hand, andlack of people’s resistance/protest on theother.

• Despite lofty ideas, programs, and allocationof resources, equity in governance is stilldistant and the poor continue to suffer.

• Authorities with different political affiliationswork at cross-purposes and in the processstrategic planning is the casualty.

Conclusion

Cities are economically crucial for most countries.In fact, the economic performance of cities willdetermine the economic prospects of nations. Thecrisis of governance in most countries can only beresolved through wider local participation at theurban and community level. The process of politicaldecentralization, already advanced in somecountries, must continue and transform the currentweak governance of cities into more accountableand transparent administration and participation.

To be more specific, governing cities requiresa four-part plan.

• An institutional framework that can meet thegrowing needs of land, infrastructure, andservices must be designed. The earlier

Despite loftyideas, programs,and allocationof resources,equity ingovernance isstill distant andthe poorcontinue tosuffer.

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practice of ignoring the potential of themarket has no relevance today because theprivate sector has demonstrated its potentialin spheres such as land, infrastructure, andservices.

• The financial viability of city governmentshas to be built up by (a) reduction of relianceon public funds; (b) appropriate pricing ofpublic goods and services, andimplementation of the principle of costrecovery from beneficiaries; and (c) forgingpartnerships with the private sector.

• The existing legislative and regulatoryinstruments of cities require adjustment foreffective governance. Most instrumentsavailable to city governments are outdated;it is necessary to increase the efficiency ofurban markets through enabling regulationsand procedures.

• Meaningful partnerships with civil societyorganizations, especially NGOs, must beforged for social-sector development, so thatthere is perceptible improvement in theconditions of the urban poor.

The existinglegislative andregulatoryinstruments ofcities requireadjustment foreffectivegovernance.

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Networking

IX. NETWORKING

There were two presentations on networkingarrangements that have been successful inimproving municipal services delivery,

particularly to the poor.Dr. Fahmy Ismail described the role of

CityNet in transferring and implementing effectivepractices. Elaborating on the concepts of bestpractices and peer-to-peer learning, he stated thatit was not enough to simply document bestpractices; the critical issue is that of transferringand extending these practices effectively to a widerange of cities. He enumerated the presently-usedindicators of effective transfer, which includeparticipation, transparency, accountability,inclusion, financial feasibility, and sustainability.

In his presentation on the concept andestablishment of the City Managers’ Association ofGujarat (CMAG), Mr. P.U. Asnani elaborated furtheron the need to establish mechanisms for exchangeof information. This is one of the objectives ofCMAG, the others being training and advocacy.CMAG conducts events such as workshops andsymposia on contemporary urban issues on a regularbasis for its members. The presentation once againbrought to the fore the importance of suchorganizations and networks in the urban sector.

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FAHMY ISMAIL1

Deputy Municipal Commissioner, ColomboMunicipal Council, and Secretary General,CityNet-Sri Lanka National Chapter

CityNet is the regional network of local authoritiesfor the management of human settlements. Startingwith 28 members in 1987, it currently has over 110members representing 19 countries, including localgovernments, development authorities, nationalorganizations, NGOs, and research and traininginstitutions, mostly in Asia and the Pacific. CityNethas consultative status with the UN Economic andSocial Council, and is a unique and innovativeinstitution that puts the idea of "local-local" dialogueand partnership in practice.

CityNet’s ultimate goal is to help urbanmanagers in the Asia-Pacific region to work for morepeople-friendly cities that are socially just,ecologically sustainable, politically participatory,economically productive, and culturally vibrant. Itsmain areas of activities are poverty alleviation,environment and health, municipal finance, andmanagement of infrastructure and services. CityNetis committed to local initiatives. It is progressivelydecentralizing as it grows, by promoting subregionalnodes and national chapters. CityNet-Sri LankaNational Chapter is one of the successful examples.

CityNet recognizes that the identification ofbest practices is not sufficient and goes further byinitiating and developing guidelines for transfer andimplementation of best practices. This initiative wastaken in close collaboration with UNCHS andUNDP.

This paper will only touch the surface of theguidelines and provide a succinct summary. For acomplete set of guidelines, you are encouraged to

1 This presentation was prepared with assistance from the CityNetSecretariat.

CityNet is aunique andinnovativeinstitution thatputs the idea of"local-local"dialogue andpartnership inpractice.

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Networking

contact the CityNet Secretariat to obtain theirpublication.

Transferring Best Practices

A transfer is a structured process of learning. Keycomponents of a transfer can be identified as"knowledge derived from real-world experiencetogether with the human expertise capable oftransforming that knowledge into social action." Atransfer implies, at a minimum, the identificationand awareness of solutions, the matching of demandfor learning with supply of experience and expertise,and a series of steps that need to be taken to helpbring about the desired change. Such change mayrange from policy reform, management systems, andtechnology to attitudes and behavior.

• Transfers typically fall into three maincategories: technical—the transfer of skillsand technology applications/processes;informational—the transfer and exchange ofideas and solutions; and managerial—asystem or series of decision-making andresource allocation processes that can betransferred and adapted.

Some examples of successful transfersinclude the transfer of Yokohama’s technicalexpertise on flood control to the BangkokMetropolitan Administration; the development ofinformation materials on solid waste disposal by theMunicipality of Olongapo to the Municipality ofTansen; and the transfer of managerial methods ofthe Mahila Sewa Bank (India) to Sevanatha (SriLanka).

The elements and processes required for aneffective transfer, as in CityNet’s guidelines, aresummarized in Fig. IX.1.

Transferstypically fallinto three maincategories:technical,informational,and managerial.

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Intermediary

Intermediary

Intermediary

Intermediary

Awareness buildingand

Media involvement

Monitoringand

EvaluationAdapt the transfer

• Adapt the transfer to localconditions

• Create pilot demonstration

Refine and focus the transfer

• Form task force• Create feasibility study• Formalize agreement

between participants & hosts• Trade relevant information

Match supply with demand

Explore possible transfers withfacilitators such as CityNet

and with potentialpartners/hosts

Implementation andevaluation

Catalyst

Broker

Facilitator

Evaluator

Figure IX.1. Elements and Processes of Transfer

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Networking

A transfer can be deemed successful even ifit has encountered several obstacles during itsdevelopment and implementation. The followingprocess indicators provide a nonexhaustive checklistfor actors involved in the transfer process. Theyshould be viewed as a tool for assessing aninitiative’s development and effectiveness:

• participation;• transparency;• accountability;• inclusion;• financial feasibility; and• sustainability.

These indicators should provide participantswith a framework for qualitative feedback on thestatus and potential success of their initiatives. It isrecommended that as the actors develop andproceed with the transfer process, additionalindicators be considered.

Obstacles to Transfer

Many challenges and obstacles can impede theimplementation and adaptation of a transfer. Byrecognizing common obstacles, participants andhosts can make better use of their resources andtime, and focus on issues involved in ensuring aneffective transfer. For this reason, it is highlyrecommended that peer-to-peer learning2 and studytour exercises involve all key stakeholders, includingelected officials, technical and managerial staff, andcommunity leaders. A few obstacles andrecommended responses are listed on the followingpage.

2 As used in CityNet’s guidelines, this is the process of exchange ofknowledge, expertise, and experience between people andorganizations that have similar roles and responsibilities and facesimilar issues and problems.

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Obstacle Responses

Political resistance to change Face-to-face meetings and discussionsamong elected officials can help overcomereluctance to engage in institutionalchange.

Staff resistance to change Peer-to-peer learning and on-the-jobtraining can help empower staff and allayfears that new ways of doing things mayaffect one’s power base or cause majordisruption in "standard operatingprocedure".

Inappropriate rules and regulations "Seeing is believing" — peer-to-peerlearning and study tours can often be moreconvincing than textbook solutions, andhelp create the awareness andunderstanding of the need to modifyoutdated rules, regulations, and norms.

Corruption Best practices have, in many cases, forged awin-win situation, thus overcoming thetraditional "win-lose" options that underliecorrupt practices. The involvement ofstakeholders and partners also contributesdirectly to more transparent andaccountable processes.

Inability to work across Study tours and staff exchanges involving adepartmental or divisional team of decision makers and stakeholdersboundaries can help forge a team spirit and break down

fiefdoms. They can also provide anopportunity to reexamine the respectiveroles and responsibilities of different workunits.

Little or no local involvement in Through best-practice transfers, thepolicy formulation and decision effectiveness of partnerships with grass-making roots and community-based organizations

can be effectively demonstrated.

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Networking

It is important to note that flexibility is arequirement for any transfer process. Not allobstacles can be predicted, but through the transferprocess, participants can learn from hosts aboutwhat to expect and eventually minimize the impactof obstacles. By weaving flexibility into the designflow of a project, all parties involved can workproactively towards overcoming challenges, ratherthan reactively.

Evaluation of Transfers

The sustainability of a transfer and theimplementation of an innovative practice rely uponthe follow-through process and an honest evaluationof both the innovation and the transfer. Prior to thetransfer, a clear monitoring plan should be devisedto provide a framework by which progress can beassessed, impact measured in accordance withinitial objectives or anticipated results, and theimplementation process analyzed for lessonslearned.

The effective transfer of a practice is notsimply replication but rather an innovativeadaptation using lessons derived from successesas well as failures. Developing a solution appli-cable to a community’s specific problem is itself agood practice and should be evaluated anddocumented for the benefit of others.

The following steps are proposed for effectiveevaluation of a transfer.

• Gather key participants together as a groupto evaluate the results of the transfer.

• Develop a list of criteria from the previousstages of the transfer process that bestrepresent the critical factors of the project.

• Using the criteria developed by theparticipants, develop a survey feedbackinstrument to be distributed to and

Developing asolutionapplicable to acommunity’sspecificproblem is itselfa good practice.

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completed by community stakeholders, e.g.residents, NGOs, businesses, government.

• Collect, compile, and document surveyresults.

• Identify key success and problem areas.• Schedule on-going evaluative processes to

highlight successes and discuss remedies/alternatives for problems.

Role of CityNet and Networks in General

The exchange of information and experience amonglocal organizations can only take place withaccurate and current information, which isincreasingly being transmitted through intricatenetworks. Intermediary organizations such asinternational, bilateral, and national organizations,universities, think tanks, and NGOs are opening upchannels of contacts and communication amongcities. Their role is an important aspect in thisprocess because they provide the necessaryguidance and expertise for successfulImplementation and continuation of a project.

CityNet serves not only as repository ofinformation, but also actively shares information andexpertise in a packaged form that is adequate to theneeds of each member. CityNet also acts as acatalyst, facilitator, or broker of transfers, assists inthe implementation, and often sponsors transfers.

Workshops and seminars form the startingpoint for exchange among CityNet members.Technical Cooperation among Cities in DevelopingCountries study visits often follow from workshops,allowing members to learn directly from one anotherand replicate good and best practices elsewhere.Advisory services are CityNet’s successful nicheactivity, whereby it identifies an appropriate expertor team, and arranges for them to visit othermembers needing advice or support on a specificproblem.

CityNet servesnot only asrepository ofinformation, butalso activelysharesinformation andexpertise in apackaged formthat is adequateto the needs ofeach member.

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Networking

These guidelines are still a work in progressand CityNet welcomes any comments, suggestions,or inputs.

P.U. ASNANIVice President, City Managers’ Association ofGujaratAhmedabad, India

Most urban local bodies do not know how to handlethe serious problems they face because of lack ofin-house capacity. Quite often, they go abroad tofind the solutions, unaware that their neighbors havedone something great that could solve suchproblems. In Gujarat, there was no forum to supportprofessional development of urban managers or toraise the sensitivity of state and central governmenton urban issues. Also, there was no sharing ofsuccessful experiences and no dissemination ofinformation.

To overcome these deficiencies, the CityManagers’ Association of Gujarat (CMAG) wasformed during the Urban Managers’ Workshop inMay 1997, with the help of USAID and theInternational City/County Managers’ Association(ICMA) of the USA. The participating mayors,commissioners, and senior local officials workedfor two days and decided to form CMAG as aprofessional, nonpolitical body with threeobjectives:

• exchanging and disseminating informationon urban issues, best city managementpractices, technologies, and cross-countrymanagement experiences;

• training and upgrading the skills of localmanagers, engineers, and local healthofficials; and

• advocacy.

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The first objective was met throughnetworking with national and international bodies,documentation of best practices within the state,making a database of experts/services/ technologies,publications (newsletters, manuals, books),developing audiovisual media, and providingexposure to urban managers within and outside thecountry.

Training and skill upgrading were donethrough workshops, seminars, short trainingprograms, regular in-house discussions/brainstorming sessions, use of think tanks, andoverseas training.

Advocacy was taken up by placing urbanissues on the agenda of state government. Some ofthe issues that we wanted to bring to the attentionof the central and state governments are

• devolution of full powers to urban localbodies to strengthen their financial base interms of the 74th Amendment of theConstitution;

• the need for total autonomy of municipalitiesto raise taxes and introduce nontax revenues;

• inclusion of the cities in infrastructure masterplans at the state and central level;

• tax exemption on municipal bonds;• encouragement of the privatization concept;• development of a cadre of professional city

managers;• financial support for infrastructure

development in the cities in view of theireconomic contribution; and

• urban agglomeration planning through aconsultative process.

Membership in CMAG is categorized asinstitutional, individual, associate, and patron. Theinstitutional members include all municipalcorporations, urban development authorities, and

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municipalities in Gujarat with a population of morethan one 1 million; institutions involved in research,training, or urban management; and NGOS involvedin providing municipal services. The associatemembers include municipalities with populationsless than one million; students connected with urbandesign, planning, management, and other relatedurban services; individuals who are eligible tobecome members of the association but cannot begiven membership due to the prescribed limit onindividual membership, which should not exceed50 percent of institutional membership; andprofessionals engaged in activities related to urbanplanning, management, design, and governance.The patrons include the mayors of municipalcorporations in Gujarat and industrial houses.Associate members and patrons do not have votingrights.

CMAG has a small office equipped with twocomputers, telephone, and email facilities; and acollection of books on urban management,governance, and related fields. There is a full-timeconsultant, with two assistants, who coordinatesCMAG activities under the guidance of the executivecommittee.

Activities of CMAG

Workshops

Since 1997, CMAG has conducted severalworkshops for its members in association with otherinstitutions. The subject areas have includedstrategic planning, stress management, the judicialsystem, handling public complaints, operation andmaintenance of water supply and sanitation systems,and other practical methods for handling variousurban problems.

The outcomes of these workshops arenoteworthy. For example, the Workshop on

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Improving Financial Resources of Urban LocalBodies Through Non-Tax Revenues, held inDecember 1997, resulted in the submission of amemorandum to the Government of Gujaratrequesting autonomy for these bodies to raisefinancial resources from nontax revenues andimpact fees.

During a Symposium on Best Practices andTransferability, 14 short-listed best practices werepresented, selected from 59 practices that weredocumented in the Best Practices Catalogue. CMAGalso awarded trophies to some municipal bodiesfor best practices, and gave citations to others.

Newsletter/Publications

CMAG publishes a quarterly newsletter for itsmembers. It also circulates interesting articles to itsmembers taken from sources such as the Internet.CMAG also publishes reports of its workshops.

International Exposure

CMAG has sent representatives to the ICMA AnnualConferences, the Asian mayors’ forums, and trainingprograms at the University of Illinois. TheInternational Managers Exchange Programs haveenabled city managers from India to visit cities inthe USA and vice versa to learn how different citiesare managed and how problems are solved. Theseinternational exposures help CMAG disseminateand share best practices with its members throughregional workshops, seminars, and trainingprograms.

Other Programs

CMAG identifies experts in various fields and makesthem available to its members. This allows localbodies to choose the right experts to assist them

Internationalexposures helpCMAGdisseminate andshare bestpractices withits members.

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Networking

with their needs. CMAG also provides project-specific technical assistance to cities through panelsof experts.

CMAG plans to implement an urbanindicators and performance measurement program,establish an urban management center forcontinuing education, prepare the urban agenda for2021 for the cities of Gujarat, and develop a WorldWide Web site for dissemination of experiences andinformation.

Based on the experience of Gujarat over thelast three years, four more states have come forwardto network with CMAG and form their ownassociations. It is also expected that additional stateswill organize their own associations, which willnetwork with each other for continuous capacitybuilding, sharing of experiences, and disseminationof information and knowledge.

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X. GETTING RID OF URBAN

X. WASTES

The problems of solid waste are overwhelmingAsian cities. This session helped shareexperiences and good practices of waste

management in different cities.Ms. Mary Jane Ortega described her

administration’s efforts in San Fernando, Philippines,to change archaic systems and develop newarrangements for waste segregation, transportation,and controlled dumping. Mayor Ortega emphasizedthat waste management, just like other critical urbanproblems, is best tackled in partnership withcommunities. She described how the NIMTO (notin my term of office) phenomenon—when politicalleaders refrain from taking far-sighted but not‘popular’ decisions—is afflicting Asian cities. Mayorswere urged to avoid this syndrome and act withforesight on waste management issues.

Mr. A.H. Md. Maqsood Sinha described theprocess of decentralized community-basedcomposting, which has been introduced by hisorganization in Dhaka and other cities acrossBangladesh. This innovative process has severalbenefits in addition to reducing the cost of managingthe enormous amount of domestic waste. It freesland that would have otherwise been used forcentralized landfilling, creates employment, andreduces the extensive use of chemical fertilizer inthe soil. The presentation went on to draw pertinentlessons from the experiment.

Dr. Kunitoshi Sakurai put forth a very usefulstep-by-step guide for improving solid wastemanagement in cities. He outlined the problems

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related to municipal solid waste management inAsian cities and highlighted the fact that even thoughprovision of collection and disposal services formunicipal refuse often consumes as much as 20 to40 percent of municipal revenues, it is not perceivedas deserving high priority. He also emphasized thatinstitutional strengthening and sound managementpractices are essential requirements to ensureefficient service provision, and listed some keystrategies towards better solid waste management.

One of the most pertinent issues raised inthe ensuing discussion was related to wastemanagement in slums and informal settlements. Thepoor and disadvantaged people who inhabit suchsettlements are the worst affected by the pollutionand unsanitary living conditions caused by wastemismanagement. Local governments, throughmayors and other city officials, play a key role indecision making for urban waste management. Thisrole must be performed in partnership with a widecross-section of stakeholders in order to ensuresustainability.

Suggestions for improved, efficient, andeffective waste management emphasized, first andforemost, reduction in the volume of waste enteringthe municipal system. This can be done throughadoption of techniques such as waste segregationat source, community-based composting, etc. It wasalso highlighted that legislation related to solid wasteneeds to be strengthened and stringently enforced.Also, inclusion of the informal sector in solid wastemanagement, especially collection, segregation, andrecycling is important. Private-sector participationemerged as a useful mechanism that is being usedby a number of cities across Asia for tasks rangingfrom primary and secondary collection to disposalof waste. However, whatever the technological andmanagement options adopted, communityawareness and involvement are critical to thesuccess of the intervention.

Suggestions forimproved,efficient, andeffective wastemanagementemphasizedreduction in thevolume of wasteentering themunicipalsystem.

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MARY JANE C. ORTEGAMayor, City of San Fernando, Philippines

San Fernando City lies 270 kilometers north ofManila. It became a city by an Act of Congress in1998. The population is 102,000 during weekendsbut about 130,000 to 150,000 during weekdaysbecause, aside from being a provincial and regionalcapital, it is also a center of education and trade.The city prides itself in being one of the mostpeaceful cities of a peaceful region.

Municipal Solid Waste Disposal System

San Fernando generates an average daily per capitawaste of 0.30 kilograms. Out of the 59 barangaysor villages, only 26 barangays, mostly urban, areserviced by the open dumpsite in BarangayCanaoay, a village near the airport. The 33barangays in the rural mountain area resort tobackyard dumping, composting, or burning.

As the host of Wallace Air Base, SanFernando was the recipient of a grant from USAIDfor the construction of a sanitary landfill in 1983.San Fernando, under then Mayor—now Governor—Justo O. Orros, Jr., bought 4.5 hectares of land asthe site; USAID built the fence and building for thelandfill. In 1986, USAID turned over the building,but the municipal government could not operatethe landfill because of lack of such components asa backhoe, bulldozers, grader, and garbage trucks.Also the access road to the site was not then paved.

It was only in 1997 that the site was used asan alternative to the old site in Barangay Canaoay.It was not an engineered landfill; we operate it as asanitary landfill. We work on a day-to-day basis,i.e. the backhoe digs what is needed for the garbagecollection of the day, the grader covers the garbagewith soil, and the bulldozer compacts the area. Ourtwo compactors were given by the Japan

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International Cooperation Agency because we wereconsistent winners in the Clean and Green Program.

Garbage Containers and Sanitary Technicians

We conducted consultations with stakeholders suchas the sanitary technicians or garbage collectors andlearned about their difficulties. For instance, sincewe do not have lifters, we used empty drums forgarbage collections. These drums were distributedalong the highway and in some designated areas.During garbage collection, the garbage collectorswould first manually transfer some of the trash to abamboo basket, or tiklis, because the full drum wastoo heavy to lift. When the drum was half empty,they would lift it and throw the rest of the garbageinto the truck.

So, we innovated. We replaced the drumswith concrete garbage containers in the shape ofthe tiklis so that people cannot steal or move themelsewhere. These concrete containers were markedNABUBULOK and HINDI NABUBULOK, meaningbiodegradable and nonbiodegradable, respectively.This was also our way of educating the people tosegregate wastes at source.

We chose the tiklis shape so that we couldput the bamboo basket into the containers. Nowour garbage collectors do not have to transfer thegarbage manually. All they have to do is lift thebamboo baskets and throw the waste directly intothe truck. Another reason for the use of tiklis is thatthey are biodegradable, unlike plastic bags. We haveasked weavers to weave wire along the ears andbottom of the baskets to make them stronger. Wehave a village that specializes in weaving bamboobaskets; thus, they gain an additional means oflivelihood.

The garbage collectors also complainedabout the varied kinds of trash they pick up,especially from hospitals. We contacted the

We conductedconsultationswithstakeholderssuch as thesanitarytechnicians orgarbagecollectors andlearned abouttheir difficulties.

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hospitals about this and encouraged them to usethe incinerator purchased by the Regional MedicalCenter. In our educational drive, we alsoemphasized that no dead animals should be thrownin the garbage containers.

Since our garbage trucks are few and proneto breakdowns, we encouraged the wealthiervillages to purchase their own garbage trucks. Threebarangays have already done so. We pay them acertain sum to cover the salaries of drivers andgarbage collectors.

Waste Pickers

There are 20 waste pickers who were originallyworking at the open dumpsite at Canaoay. Theytravel 12 kilometers daily and when theycomplained that the cost of transportation hadincreased, I offered them a small capital grant for alivelihood project. This would save them fromcommuting while at the same time help the citygovernment train new waste pickers in the new area.They showed interest in being helped with otherlivelihood activities, but wanted to continue workingas waste pickers. When I asked them to choose oneor the other, they chose to remain waste pickers.This proves that there is money in recyclablematerials.

The waste pickers are not city governmentemployees but are under contract with the barangaycaptain of Mameltac, the site of the sanitary landfill.In turn, the barangay captain pays the city P5,000monthly for the exclusive right to pick therecyclables and he sells them to a factory 200kilometers south of the city. This factory sends atruck to pick up the recyclable materials every twoweeks. As our way of supporting the wastepickers,our City Health Office gives them annual healthchecks. We also constantly remind them not to allowtheir minor children to help them at the landfill.

We encouragedthe wealthiervillages topurchase theirown garbagetrucks. Threebarangays havealready doneso.

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The sanitary technicians used to pick therecyclables themselves and would even allow theirfriends to come up into the truck to select and picktrash while making the routes. We discouraged thisbecause it scattered plastic and paper from the truckduring segregation. Besides, this practice reducedthe quantity of trash available to the waste pickers.

Social Impact

The Parish Pastoral Council used to be against thelandfill because they had not seen a model landfill.The concept they had of landfills is what we havein Manila, which is far from being a model. Wehave encouraged tour visits for that Council andother NGOs to the landfill site. We have also askedthe school principals to bring students on a fieldtrip once a year to the landfill and to the ten-hectarebotanical garden so that students can appreciate theimportance of waste management and theregreening of the countryside.

We explained to the different stakeholders the"not in my backyard" (NIMBY) and the "not in myterm of office" (NIMTO) syndromes. NIMBY refers topeople who throw their trash into idle land but nottheir backyard, and to people who want their trashcollected but not dumped in their own community.NIMTO refers to most political leaders, who do notwant to confront the problem of trash. They do notcare if a leachate affects an aquifer; instead they leavethe problem for the next chief executive. Normally,the mayors’ term of office is only three years but wecan be re-elected twice, for a total of nine years.

We espouse that we should tackle theproblems now. We have seven hectares of land andwe are in the process of acquiring another twohectares. We hope to increase the area to tenhectares, and with proper recycling, composting,and waste management, we hope to stretch the lifespan of the landfill to at least fifteen years.

The ParishPastoral Councilused to beagainst thelandfill becausethey had notseen a modellandfill.

We haveencouraged tourvisits for thatCouncil andother NGOs.

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Solid Waste Ecological EnhancementProgram

San Fernando is one of the six LGUS participatingin the Solid Waste Ecological Enhancement Program(SWEEP) of the Department of Environment andNatural Resources (DENR), through which we weregiven a feasibility study grant for a landfill by theCanadian International Development Agencythrough the World Bank. Golder Associates, aCanadian firm, won the bid for the feasibility studies.They required an increase in the original landfillarea of 4.5 hectares. While we were in the processof negotiating for the acquisition of additional land,Golder started the feasibility study.

During their visits, we learned more aboutthe proper operation of a landfill. Aside fromengineering landfill experts, they also sent asociologist who advised us as we conducted publicconsultations on the need for an engineered landfill,on properly managing the relocated residents of thenewly acquired land, and on other importantbenefits of the landfill. They also advised us thatour soil is mainly clay that could be used to line thefuture engineered landfill. We were also advisednot to dig deeper than three meters so as not toaffect the aquifer.

Golder and Associates knew that our budgetwas limited to P80 million, and we wanted anengineered landfill that could address the problemsof leachate, methane gas collection, and vermin.They assured us that with that budget, we couldhave a functional and environment-friendly landfill.

We have submitted the feasibility study toDENR for their Environmental Certificate Clearance,and have made arrangements with the World Bankfor a loan to construct the landfill. The loan ispayable in 15 years with a three-year grace period.So far, we have had the support of all communityresidents, although some detractors made an issue

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about putting the next generation into debt becauseof the loan. I told them the project would benefitnot only today’s generation, but also the next.Therefore, they should share in the cost.

Through SWEEP, we undertook a two-weekstudy tour in the USA in 1998. In one location, wesaw a landfill beside a subdivision. There was abuffer zone and pipes installed for emitting scents.Cinnamon is emitted at lunch time and lime orlemon in the evening. We cannot afford to do that.However, we planted 200 scented trees and fragrantflowering plants on our landfill site so that aside frombeautifying the place, we could have fragrant scents.

Our landfill, although not yet engineered, isa site for study tours by LGUs. Such visitors arebriefed about our City Development Strategy (CDS),which was developed through technical assistancefrom the World Bank. In the CDS, the environmentis one of our main thrusts because we believe thataside from helping create a sustainable environment,it is the key for tourism and economic growth. Thevisitors are also briefed about how we maintain,operate, and make the landfill healthy and beautiful.We have shown them that lack of funding is not adeterrent to improving the status quo. Throughinnovation, consultation, participation, and thewholehearted support of all sectors of thecommunity, we can move ahead.

Solid Waste Association of the Philippines

During our visit to the USA, we were hosted by theSolid Waste Association of North America(SWANA), which has been in existence for 36 years.I suggested that we form a Solid Waste Associationof the Philippines (SWAP), composed of the LGUsparticipating in SWEEP, so that we could echo whatwe have learned.

A year later, the World Bank and USAIDfunded the first National Solid Waste Conference

We have shownthem that lackof funding is nota deterrent toimproving thestatus quo.

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in Manila. Before this, we met in Cebu to share bestpractices in solid waste management, when theorganization of SWAP became a reality. During theSolid Waste Conference, we presented the draftconstitution and by-laws of SWAP. These wereapproved by the participants and SWAP wasregistered with the Securities and ExchangeCommission. SWANA presented SWAP a plaque onits organization and technical assistance was madeavailable to our members.

Conclusion

Education in whatever field cannot be doneovernight. It is a slow, tedious process. We shouldconcentrate on the youth but we should not neglectthe adults. We must share the different best practicesin the Philippines, but recognizing that one singlebest practice cannot answer the needs forcomprehensive solid waste management. Whilerecycling is good, it is only one component. In theUS, 35 percent recycling is the target, but here inAsia, we can perhaps reach 60 percent, becausethere is money in trash and in a developing country,that is important. We have to teach our householdsto segregate at source, but we have the waste pickersto complete the segregation.

Composting, recycling, and reusing wastesare all good practices, but are not enough to addressall the problems of waste. Landfills are also needed,and if we want to maximize the life of our landfills,all sectors have to cooperate to observe the differentbest practices.

Collecting garbage is a role of localgovernment. We have to implement the user-paysprinciple. At present, our constituents feel that theirtaxes should answer for garbage collection, as thisis one of the basic services due them. We collectgarbage fees only from business establishments at avery minimal rate. During consultations, residents

If we want tomaximize thelife of ourlandfills, allsectors have tocooperate toobserve thedifferent bestpractices.

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agreed to pay a minimal amount for garbagecollection, but this was not enough to cover the costof waste management. Thus, we further agreed thatonce the engineered landfill is in place, we wouldalso collect garbage fees from residential areas.

The homes in squatter areas cannot affordto pay garbage fees, but that does not mean thatthis service will be denied them. In our squatterareas, as well as in 22 barangays that have beenadopted by CBOs and NGOs, there is an OperationMIA ken MULA, which is advice to clean oursurroundings and plant trees.

The Philippine Navy, which is based in ourcity, has been helping us clean the beaches on twodays every month for the past two years. This hasraised cleanliness awareness among residents incoastal areas.

A.H. MD. MAQSOOD SINHA AND IFTEKHARENAYETULLAHWaste Concern, Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is one of the fastestgrowing metropolises in the world, with an annualaverage growth rate of 6.6 percent. The populationof Dhaka megacity in 1999 was estimated at 10.4million in an area of 1,353 km2, while that of DhakaCity Corporation (DCC) was estimated at 6 millionin an area of 344 km2. The six million residents ofDhaka generate about 3,000 tonnes of solid wasteper day. The City Corporation is responsible formanagement of this enormous quantity of solidwaste, only 42 percent of which is collected. Therest lies on roadsides, open drains, and low-lyingareas, contributing to the deteriorating quality ofDhaka’s environment.

There is, however, a gradual recognition ofwaste as a resource. In an attempt to recover thevalue from organic waste, Waste Concern, a

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research-based NGO, initiated a pilot project in1995 for community-based decentralizedcomposting, integrated with primary collection ofsolid waste. Its purpose was to develop a compostingtechnique that was not capital intensive; was locatednear urban residential areas; caused minimumnuisance from odors and flies; produced anenvironmentally safe product; and was suited toDhaka’s urban conditions.

Table X.1 shows the physical compositionof solid waste from different areas of Dhaka City. Itmay be seen from the Table that a major portion(70 to 80 percent) of the solid waste in the mixed,residential, and commercial areas is organic (foodand vegetable waste, garden waste, tree trimmings,and straw). This large proportion of organic wasteindicates the potential of recycling it into compost.There is a good market for compost, because theland use in Greater Dhaka and its adjoining areasis mainly agricultural.

Why Decentralized Composting?

The existing physical plan and socioeconomicsituation of Dhaka strongly suggest decentralizationof the composting system because

• a decentralized composting system is morelabor intensive and less costly thancentralized composting;

• such decentralization is well suited to ourenvironmental, social, and economicconditions;

• low-cost, easily available local materials andsimple technology can be used in thistechnique;

• such decentralization improves communityparticipation in garbage separation andreduces the volume of solid waste at thesource;

A decentralizedcompostingsystem is morelabor intensiveand less costlythan centralizedcomposting.

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• significant improvement can be achieved inthe collection of solid waste;

• the costs incurred for collection,transportation, and disposal of waste bymunicipal authorities are reduced; and

• income and job opportunities for the poor,socially-deprived informal workers, andsmall entrepreneurs are enhanced.

The Project: Community-basedDecentralized Composting

Waste Concern initiated a community-baseddecentralized composting project in Section-2 ofMirpur Housing Estate, Dhaka. A small vacant lot(1,000 square meters) was made available by the

Table X.1. Composition of Solid Waste in theDhaka City Corporation Area

Mixed Residential Commercial IndustrialWaste Waste Waste Waste

Component (% by weight) (% by weight) (% by weight) (% by weight)

Food & Vegetable Waste 70.12 59.91 62.05 26.37

Paper Products 4.29 11.21 6.28 7.59

Plastic, Rubber,

& Leather 4.71 17.67 4.62 6.01

Rags – – – –

Metals 0.13 0.15 0.28 –

Glass & Ceramics 0.25 0.37 –

Wood 0.16 –

Garden Wastes,

Tree Trimmings, & Straw 10.76 8.76 2.86 4.32

Cloths 4.57 18.93 46.2

Rocks, Dirt, & Misc. 5.01 2.30 4.62 9.49

Moisture (%) 65 50 54 60

Source: World Bank

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Lions Club (Dhaka Northern) for a composting plant.The Lions Club initially allowed a three-monthperiod to observe Waste Concern’s performance.The plant has been in full operation since 1995 andthe support of the Lions’ Club has continued. Theprime goal of this demonstration project was toexplore the technical and commercial feasibility oflabor-intensive, aerobic composting in Bangladesh.

Community Mobilization for WasteCollection

Waste Concern gave special attention to assessingthe need and aspirations of the beneficiaries, andcommunity involvement in the project. Thus, beforeinitiating the project, Waste Concern conducted aquestionnaire survey amongst the residents of theestate to determine their opinion on solid wastemanagement, willingness to participate in anyimprovement program, and their willingness tocontribute. The survey revealed that more than 80percent of the residents of the locality were notsatisfied with the existing solid waste managementservice of the DCC. Most respondents supportedthe idea of an alternative door-to-door solid wastecollection scheme. In addition, 77 percent of thesurveyed households were willing to pay Tk15 to60 per month to any organization for door-to-doorwaste collection. These findings encouraged WasteConcern to initiate the project. (The remaining 23percent of respondents said they would not pay forthis service since they are already payingconservancy tax to the DCC.)

In addition to community mobilization,Waste Concern has also been working to buildawareness among the city dwellers regarding sourceseparation, recycling, and resource recovery of solidwaste. Waste Concern has developed posters,training manuals, training programs, and researchfor building awareness. It has also established links

Waste Concerngave specialattention toassessing theneed andaspirations ofthebeneficiaries,and communityinvolvement inthe project.

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with the residents’ association in the projectneighborhood.

Identification of Potential Users of Compost

Before starting the project, we conducted a detailedsurvey of farmers as potential users of compost,which showed that there was good demand forcompost in Dhaka and adjoining areas. In fact, 94percent of the farmers in one area were interestedin buying compost. It was alarming to note fromthe survey that present farm yields were less thanthat 10 years before. Nearly 80 percent of thefarmers blamed this on excessive use of chemicalfertilizer and lack of organic manure. Mostrespondents stated that they were not using organicmanure simply because it was unavailable.

Collection of Solid Waste

The door-to-door system introduced by WasteConcern now collects two tonnes of domesticorganic waste (free from toxic and clinical wastes)per day from 700 households in the project area.Modified rickshaw vans are used for collection.Solid waste from the restaurants and vegetablemarkets is also collected.

The door-to-door solid waste collectionscheme of Waste Concern has a demonstrationeffect as well. Some 200 households areparticipating in a similar program run by anotherCBO, while adjoining neighborhoods have alsostarted door-to-door solid waste collection schemesand formed CBOs. Waste Concern plans to expandits waste collection activities to 1,000 householdsand has also launched an environmental awarenessprogram with the help of the community.

For door-to-door waste collection, thehouseholds each pay a monthly charge of Tk15.Initially the fee was Tk10 per month, and was

Adjoiningneighborhoodshave alsostarted door-to-door solid wastecollectionschemes andformed CBOs.

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increased as households appreciated more thebenefits and service. Income from the solid wastecollection service is spent on the wages of the part-time van drivers and waste collectors. The systemis thus self-sustaining. Waste Concern is planningto ask other CBOs working in the adjoiningneighborhoods to bring their collected solid wasteto the recycling and resource recovery plant.

Composting Technique

Two composting techniques were tested: theChinese covered pile system and the Indonesianwindrow technique. From field experimentation, itwas found that the former was not appropriate forcommunity-based projects due to odor problems,although it may be a viable option for compostingin larger dumpsites. The Indonesian technique hassome odor when the windrows are turned, but thisis tolerable.

Thus, we used the aerobic Indonesianwindrow technique. The collected solid waste isseparated and sorted in the resource recovery(composting) plant located within the community.A carbon-nitrogen ratio of 35 to 50 is optimum foraerobic composting. The carbon-nitrogen ratio ofsolid waste is slightly higher (carbon, 22.6 percent;nitrogen, 0.4 percent) in Dhaka. At higher carbon-nitrogen ratios, nitrogen may be a limiting nutrient.In our project, we use chicken and cattle manure tooptimize the nitrogen content. Sawdust is also mixedwith the waste to increase air space, enabling properaeration and reducing the density of the compostmixture.

The compostable organic waste is heapedinto piles under a covered shed, which improvesthe efficiency of the decomposition. In addition, theshed protects the compost workers from rain andheat. To enable the bacteria to obtain sufficientoxygen, the pile is aerated using bamboo aerators.

The system isself-sustaining.

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A pile temperature of 55-65 °C is optimumfor aerobic composting. Turning over the pile alongwith the bamboo aerators is the method used tomaintain pile temperature. Turning associated withwatering facilitates rapid decomposition and alsomoves the nondecomposting materials from theexterior of the pile into the interior, providing newfood sources for the bacteria. The temperature ofthe pile determines when to turn it. The temperatureis monitored and records are kept of temperaturetrends. The process of composting has very littleodor.

The composting process requires 40 days fordecomposition and another 15 days for maturing.After maturing, the compost is screened intodifferent grades and packed for marketing. WasteConcern is trying to reduce the decomposition timeby using innoculums (compost digester) toaccelerate decomposition. At present, 500 kg ofcompost is produced every day from two tonnes ofsolid waste. Six women from the informal sectorare working in the composting plant.

Marketing of Compost

There is a good market for compost around Dhaka.At present Waste Concern sells its compost to anumber of outlets such as fertilizer marketingcompanies and nurseries at Tk2.5 to 5.0 per kg. Thequality of compost is monitored in the laboratoriesof the Soil Science Department of Dhaka University.

We are now trying to promote the sale ofnutrient-enriched composts (compost blended withchemical fertilizer) and have signed a memorandumof understanding with a fertilizer marketingcompany, which will purchase our bulk compost,enrich it, and market the product. The Ministry ofAgriculture has approved six brands of enrichedcompost specifically for rice, wheat, potatoes,vegetables, tobacco, and tea.

At present, 500kg of compost isproduced everyday from twotonnes of solidwaste.

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Financial Feasibility of the Project

Production of compost involves fixed costs inconstruction of the composting plant and itsoperational costs. The construction cost of our three-tonne capacity plant was around US$10,000.Annual operating costs total about US$4,000, whichincludes salaries of the manager and 12 workers,and cost of utilities and raw materials. Annualincome from the project is at present US$10,500,about 80 percent of which is from compost sales,the remainder being the charges to households forthe service. The return on investment shows thatthe project is viable.

Other Benefits from the Project

Apart from the financial benefit, there are a numberof other advantages of decentralized composting,as proven by our plant, such as

• lower waste management costs by reducingthe volume of solid waste—a three-tonnecommunity-based plant can save DCCnearly US$18,000 and 1,095 square metersof landfill area per year;

• improvement in the overall environment ofthe neighborhood by minimizing illegaldisposal of waste on roads, drains, andvacant lots;

• generation of employment for the poor,especially women, and new prospects forsmall entrepreneurs to take part in therecycling business; and

• the process returns organic matter to the soiland minimizes the use of chemical fertilizers.

A three-tonnecommunity-based plant cansave DCCnearlyUS$18,000 and1,095 squaremeters oflandfill area peryear.

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Lessons Learnt

The following conclusions and lessons can be drawnfrom the pilot project of Waste Concern.

• The success of a community-based programdepends largely on identifying andaddressing the communities’ needs whilesustainability of the project depends oninvolving them in the cost-recovery/cost-sharing process. Our experience showed thatpeople do not object to paying a higherservice charge once they see tangibleimprovements.

• Community-based projects have ademonstration effect. In our case, the numberof participating households increased over timeand CBOs formed to create similar services.

• NGOs can play an important role in initiatingand demonstrating new concepts andproviding technical know-how and trainingto others. The idea of a community-basedcomposting plant was a new concept inDhaka. DCC was not interested and eventhe Lions Club was initially skeptical. WasteConcern gave several presentationsexplaining the project activity before theLions Club was convinced to help.

• A small-scale compost plant can be locatedwithin the community, provided that anappropriate scientific composting method isfollowed. Special attention should be givento avoiding odor problems and maintainingaerobic conditions.

• A decentralized compost plant can becommercially viable. Many entrepreneursare approaching Waste Concern fortechnical assistance and training.

• Women from the informal sector areinterested to work in composting plants, and

People do notobject to payinga higher servicecharge oncethey seetangibleimprovements.

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it is socially acceptable. Most of the femaleworkers in our plant previously worked ingarment factories and as domestic help.

• Marketing of compost is the major problem.This problem can be overcome by involvingspecialized fertilizer marketing companies.Compost enriched with nutrients is moreeasily marketable in rural areas than rawcompost. Media can also play a vital role inpopularizing compost. Government has todevelop a policy conducive to marketingcompost.

Despite the achievements of Waste Concern,however, the program has been slow to expand.Replication of the concept in other communities,city corporations, and municipalities has been ratherdifficult. At the national level in Bangladesh, thereis no policy on solid waste management for citycorporations and municipalities.

Prospects

There are several trends and developments thatmake us optimistic about future progress. The mostimportant and long-term benefit from WasteConcern’s pilot project is the growing awareness,which has made a significant contribution to thenational and local debate on solid wastemanagement. For the first time in Bangladesh, urbanorganic waste is being recovered in an economicallysustainable and viable manner. Almost all thenational newspapers in Bangladesh have publishedspecial features on our project. Several hundredrepresentatives from government authorities,external support agencies, universities, the privatesector, journalists, and foreign delegates have visitedthe site since it opened in 1995. Some of them arebeginning to question the traditional assumption thatwaste management should be centralized as the sole

For the first timein Bangladesh,urban organicwaste is beingrecovered in aneconomicallysustainable andviable manner.

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responsibility of local authorities. Others arebeginning to appreciate that most of the urban wastein Bangladesh can be utilized positively witheconomic and environmental benefits.

Replication of the Project by Governmentand Municipal Authorities

Recently, the Ministry of Environment and Forests,with support from UNDP under its SustainableEnvironment Management Program, initiatedreplication of our project in four wards of the DCCarea. Moreover, the World Bank and SwissDevelopment Cooperation are planning to replicatethe project in Khulna, the third largest city in thecountry. DCC has recently agreed to provide landto Waste Concern for establishing a community-based composting plant. The Public WorksDepartment has also provided public land in sixgovernment residential colonies in Dhaka for thesame purpose. It is now believed that as awarenessgrows, government policy and market forces willcombine to realize the huge potential of compostingthroughout Bangladesh.

KUNITOSHI SAKURAIProfessor, University of Okinawa, Japan

Through the Rio Earth Summit, it was widelyrecognized that the developing world’s growingurban populations need attention and that the mostcritical and immediate problem facing developing-country cities is the impact of urban pollutionderived from inadequate water, sanitation, drainage,and solid waste services; poor urban and industrialwaste management; and air pollution, especiallyfrom particulates. This set of problems is collectivelydubbed the "brown agenda". The Earth Summit alsorecognized that local authorities and local

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communities are best able to take concrete actionon their urban environment. Without doubt, mayorshave to play a crucial role in the protection of cityresidents’ well-being from deterioration of the urbanenvironment.

One of the most important environmentalproblems facing cities is pollution from municipalsolid waste. This document provides a guide formayors to improve the management of this waste.

Existing Situation of Municipal Solid WasteManagement in Asian Cities

Municipal solid waste is defined to include refuse fromhouseholds; nonhazardous solid waste from industrial,commercial, and institutional establishments(including hospitals); market waste; yard waste; andstreet sweepings. Municipal solid waste management(MSWM) encompasses the functions of collection,transfer, treatment, recycling, resource recovery, anddisposal of municipal solid waste.

The first goal of MSWM is to protect thehealth of the population, particularly that of low-income groups. Other goals include promotion ofenvironmental quality and sustainability, support ofeconomic productivity, and employmentgeneration. Achievement of MSWM goals requiressustainable solid waste management systems, whichare adapted to and carried out by the municipalityand its local communities.

MSWM is a major responsibility of localgovernment. It is a complex task that requiresappropriate organizational capacity and cooperationbetween numerous stakeholders in the private andpublic sectors. MSWM in most Asian cities is highlyunsatisfactory and frequently a source of complaintby the public and anxiety to concerned officials.

In low-income Asian countries, large citiessuch as Calcutta and Karachi generate around 0.4to 0.7 kilograms of solid waste per capita per day,

The first goal ofMSWM is toprotect thehealth of thepopulation,particularly thatof low-incomegroups.

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while in middle-income countries, cities likeBangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Manila generatearound 0.5 to 1.0 kilograms of waste per capita perday. The amount of solid waste generated in largeAsian cities is typically 3,000 to 5,000 tonnes perday.

Most Asian cities dispose of their solid wastein landfills. Recycling is limited to "waste picking"by the informal sector. The difficulty of finding andmanaging landfills, combined with the strain ofkeeping up with growing demands, has led toinadequate solid waste collection, recycling, anddisposal systems.

Solid waste generation is expected toincrease substantially with economic growth. Forexample, while Mumbai produces 1.2 million tonnesof solid waste per year, Tokyo, with about the samepopulation, produces 4.5 million tonnes. Theincreased amounts of domestic and commercialwaste that are generated tend to include morenonbiodegradable or toxic components. Theincreased use of disposable plastic syringes iscomplicating the management of medical wastes inmany countries. The increasing amount of industrialtoxic waste adds to the problem, both because of itsimpact on health and the high cost of cleanup.

MSWM frequently suffers more than othermunicipal services when budget allocations andcuts are made. Even though provision of collectionand disposal services for municipal refuse oftenconsumes as much as 20 to 40 percent of municipalrevenues, it is not perceived as deserving highpriority. Cost recovery is not emphasized and thefinancially starved agencies are unable to meetoperating and maintenance costs or capacityexpansion needs. Efforts of people employed tocollect, dispose of, and recycle wastes are rarelyappreciated.

Institutional strengthening and soundmanagement practices are required to ensure

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efficient service provision. Collection shouldbe decentralized to the local municipal level orlower, while disposal responsibilities should be atthe level of the metropolitan region to ensurethat the process is environmentally sound. Moreattention needs to be paid to financing capitalrequirements as well as meeting recurring costs.Municipalities should strive to recover the costsof collection through user charges, while disposalcosts could be met through local taxes and/or in te rgovernmental transfers, given theenvironmental benefits of sound disposal.

The potential role of the private sector (bothinformal and formal) in MSWM needs to beexplored. Recycling of solid wastes could reducepressure on the collection, disposal, and handlingsystems. Informal-sector waste pickers alreadyoperate marginal recycling operations in many Asiancities. There are ample opportunities forparticipation by the private sector and communitygroups in dealing with household wastes.Contracting out the management of transfer stations,processing facilities, landfills, and special industrialwaste facilities is a feasible option.

Five Strategic Measures to Improve MSWM

1. Firm Commitment of the RelevantAuthorities for Better MSWM

Credibility of the authorities is vital. This canbe attained through the following.

• Establish an appropriate and sustainableservice level based on the people’swillingness to pay and the authority’scapacity; allocate human and financialresources necessary for theachievement of that level; and keep thepromise to the people.

The potentialrole of theprivate sector(both informaland formal) inMSWM needsto be explored.

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• Establish adequate legislation onMSWM and enforce it strictly (e.g. anti-littering laws).

• Maintain communications with serviceusers and contractors. Delivery of reliableservices is a prerequisite for usercooperation such as proper use of refusebins and timely payment of user charges.Fair treatment of private contractorsthrough punctual fee payment, etc. is aprecondition for successful contractualwork. Mistreatment of private contractorswill lead to disastrous results.

2. Strategic Planning

Planning is the essential path to cost-effectiveuse of limited resources. Some steps to take includethe following.

• Carry out basic surveys to determine thepresent state of MSWM and identifyservice demand and supply, problemsand potentials, and priority areas. Asolid waste generation survey andMSWM service survey are essential. Anold Chinese proverb says that if youknow your enemy (MSWM problems)and yourself (available resources) youwill never lose in 100 battles.

• Project future service demands and therequired supply.

• Plan and implement the improvementof MSWM in a step-by-step process.

• Use pilot projects to study technicalfeasibility and socioeconomic viabilityof new approaches and disseminate theresults after necessary modifications.

• Pursue multisectoral approaches toachieve cost-effective improvement,

Mistreatmentof privatecontractorswill lead todisastrousresults.

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e.g. cooperation with the educationsector through school education onsolid waste management; cooperationwith the tourism industry through clean-up campaigns.

3. Waste Minimization First

In line with the internationally recognizedwaste management hierarchy, the first priorityshould be given to waste minimization (reductionat source). It should be followed by reuse, recycling,treatment, and land disposal, in that order. Somerelevant measures include the following.

• Introduce economic incentives such asa deposit-refund system to promoterecycling. In this system, customers paya deposit for, e.g. a beer or soft-drinkcan or bottle, and get back the depositwhen they return the container.

• Carry out workable pilot projects onhome composting/gardening with theaim of improving nutrition and reducingwaste at source. Migration of youngpeople to towns causes a suddenchange in their diets resulting in animbalance in nutrition. Homecomposting/gardening to producevegetables and fruits can be a solutionto this problem. Such a practice canreduce the frequency of solid wastecollection as well as service cost, andprolong the life of landfills.

• Strengthen health education using allavailable media to motivate peopletoward better health practices such assource reduction of solid waste.

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4. Improvement and Cost Saving inCollection Services

The collection service is the most expensiveunit process of MSWM. Improvement and costsaving here will generate the financial resourcesnecessary for sanitary landfills. There are severalways to achieve these aims.

• Conduct time and motion studies ofcollection works to identify areasrequiring improvement.

• Standardize refuse bins that people canafford and phase out the use of 55-gallon steel drums.

• Select less sophisticated vehicles thatcan be maintained locally. Vehicle sizeshould take into accountmaneuverability on local roads.Vehicles with a low waste-loading pointand tipping facility are preferable.

• Determine collection service areas,routes, frequency, and schedules toprovide necessary directions to drivers,contractors, and the public/service usersso that all parties can collaborateeffectively.

• Use the services of private contractorswisely.

5. Use of Savings for Final DisposalImprovement

Careful siting and management are the keyto a successful landfill project.

• Select the most appropriate technologyfor treatment and final disposal. For Asiancities, this usually means a sanitarylandfill. Incineration of domestic refuse

Improvementand cost savingin collectionwill generatethe financialresourcesnecessary forsanitarylandfills.

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should be carefully evaluated from thetechnical, environmental, and financialpoint of view.

• Upgrade the management of landfillsin phases from crude open dumping tocontrolled tipping, and eventually tosanitary landfill.

• Select sites for future landfill carefully.Selection criteria include distance fromcollection areas, distance from nearesthouses, access road, capacity/volumeavailable, downstream water use,permeability of underlying soil,groundwater table, availability of coversoil, initial structural requirements,agreement of land owners, and distancefrom the nearest airstrip.

• Allocate the necessary human, physical,and financial resources for theconstruction and operation of thelandfill. Provision of inadequateresources amounts to being penny-wiseand pound-foolish. The use of privatecontractors for landfill operations maybe a good alternative when propermanagement of heavy equipment bythe public sector is difficult.

• Strive to achieve better communicationwith waste pickers, particularly withtheir leaders, in order to establish anorderly system at the landfill site that isacceptable to both parties. Eradicationof waste picking by the police ormilitary will result in a hostileconfrontation.

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From Vicious Circles to Positive Circles

The Vicious Circles in MSWM and Disposal

A vicious circle in MSWM is widely observed inAsian cities. Limited financial resources assignedto the collection service, together with poormanagement, make the quality of the serviceunsatisfactory. The refuse collection schedule israrely met. This damages the trust of the generalpublic in the service and their willingness to payfor it is severely eroded. As a result, the responsibleauthority cannot raise enough financial resourcesin spite of the increasing service demand causedby rapid urbanization.

Final disposal also has a vicious circle.Because of its low priority, very little money isprovided to manage the site. As a result, the siteis usually a crude open dump with all its negativeimplications. No one wants such a facility in his/her vicinity—the NIMBY (not in my back yard)syndrome. This makes the siting of future landfillswithin reasonable distance from the city/towncenter very difficult, pushing up the transportationcost and leaving a far reduced financial balancefor landfill management. In addition, dump siteslocated far from the city/town will tend to resultin illegal dumping because collection vehicledrivers often cannot resist the temptation ofdumping their waste closer to the collectionpoints.

Development of a Positive Circle

Asian mayors have to break these vicious circlesonce and forever and establish positive circlesinstead. For example, if brand new vehicles areprovided as a grant from the national governmentor some donor agencies to replace old vehicles for,say, commercial waste collection, this would be a

Dump siteslocated far fromthe city/townwill tend toresult in illegaldumping.

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good opportunity for you, as mayors, to start apositive circle.

Arrival of new vehicles enables you toestablish a reliable collection system for commercialwaste. This will in turn facilitate the introduction ofa user-pays system for commercial waste. Collectedfees can be used, for example, for the improvementof existing dumps. Landfill operation can becontracted out to a local construction company toavoid the problems associated with governmentoperations (slow decision making, poor equipmentmaintenance capability, lack of stand-by equipment,etc.). With your proper supervision, contractors willoperate a landfill far better than will the publicsector. This will turn the open dump into a controlledlandfill, which will definitely make it easier for youto overcome the NIMBY syndrome in the acquisitionof future sites within a reasonable distance. Thus,the positive circle begins its momentum. You mustkeep this momentum going and strengthen it as moreresources are generated.

The above-mentioned scenario to exert achange from vicious to new positive circles is onlyan example. A number of other scenarios can bedeveloped and implemented. It is up to you, asmayors, to initiate the development of anappropriate scenario for your city/town.

With yourpropersupervision,contractors willoperate alandfill farbetter than willthe publicsector.

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Concluding Remarks

XI. CONCLUDING REMARKS

S. B. CHUADirector, Capacity BuildingAsian Development Bank Institute

We have now come at the end of three-and-a-half days of discussion on whatwe should do to help the urban poor.

During this time, we have deliberated andexchanged views and experiences in formal andinformal sessions. Judging from your activeparticipation, it appears to me that the Forum hasbeen useful in helping all of us acquire newinformation and ideas on how best to help our fellowcitizens get out of poverty.

We have been well entertained and had theopportunity of enjoying the hospitality of ourChinese friends. We were invited to a sumptuousbanquet by the Mayor of Shanghai, his Excellency,Mr. Xu Kuangdi, where he was kind enough to sharewith us how the Shanghai Municipal Governmenttransformed the city into one that is now recognizedinternationally as a city that has low incidence ofurban poverty.

We had a night tour of the city and the rivercruise and we saw the beautiful lights on bothsides of the Huang Pu River. We also saw ShanghaiCity by day when we were taken to Suzhou Creekand the Pudong area, a showpiece of exemplarycity development by the People’s Republic ofChina and our Shanghainese friends in particular.If we were to judge the level of development inShanghai as the standard, the PRC could beclassified in the not distant future as a developedrather than a developing country. Certainly, we are

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very impressed by its rapid development and itsdouble-digit growth year after year, and maybethat is its secret of getting rid of urban poverty. Itcertainly has enlightened me and I am sure all ofyou as well.

We listened to many eminent speakers whohave outlined for us how to provide jobs for thepoor, how to upgrade slums, how to provide housingfor the poor, and how to get rid of urban wastes.You as participants were wonderful with your patientlistening and questioning.

So as not to disappoint our resource speakers,I thought that the least we could do is to recall someof the key messages that they want us to remember.There are many, many important messages, but I canonly highlight some of them for you.

• To be effective in helping the poor, we needpolitical commitment first of all. As mayorsyou can play a very important role and, asDr. Masaru Yoshitomi, Dean of the ADBInstitute said, mayors do exert a vast amountof influence on the lives of the citizens whomthey represent.

• Appropriate policies have to be designed tohelp the poor and these policies should beimplemented in a consistent manner andfollowed through, even if there may befrequent changes of mayors in some cities.

• We could not agree more with the Mayor ofShanghai that the poor have to be taken intoaccount in the overall development of anycity and that they be provided with socialsafety nets, as Shanghai has done. Certainly,it is a good lesson that we can all learn fromShanghai.

• The Vice Mayor of Shanghai spoke of theneed to have international cooperation sothat we can learn from one another. We canalso learn from the good practices and avoid

To be effectivein helping thepoor, we needpoliticalcommitmentfirst of all.

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Concluding Remarks

the pitfalls to effectively help the poor getout of poverty. His comment fits in very wellwith the Forum’s objectives.

• The Vice President of ADB, Mr. Myoung-HoShin, encouraged us to establish a globalarchitecture for poverty reduction. Heemphasized that social stability is asimportant as global financial stability.

• Dr. Masaru Yoshitomi explained to us thatgrowth could account for 60 percent ofpoverty reduction and the nature of growthis important for fighting poverty. However,more work has to be done in this area tohelp guide policymakers in their efforts tohelp the poor get out of poverty apart fromthrough growth.

• Prof. Karina Constantino-David, our keynotespeaker, warned us against allowing citiesto grow beyond their carrying capacity.Other speakers echoed her views by tellingus that perhaps we should also give priorityto developing new cities and expanding thesmaller ones.

• Others tell us that we need to improvegovernance in local city management,empower the poor, and developmultistakeholder partnerships with NGOs,community organizations, governmentagencies, etc. In effect, all are saying thateverybody has to be involved if we are tohave any success in curbing urban poverty.

• Still other speakers point to the need to takeinto account the level of development of acountry when recommending what action acountry should take to fight urban poverty.

• Even in the same country, no two cities canadopt the same modalities for curbing urbanpoverty. What works in one city may notnecessarily work in another city. However,what is important is that we must share

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knowledge of the best practices and adaptthem in our own city as we see fit.

• On creating jobs for the poor, directintervention by city governments throughdevelopment of labor-intensive enterprisesappears to be one option. Fuzhou City hasdemonstrated to us how it achieved successthrough direct intervention schemes forcreating employment and income generationfor the urban poor. Other means includetraining and retraining of the poor for self-employment and providing alternativemeans of livelihood. Participants share themajority view that providing credit forfinancing micro-enterprises appears to be aneffective method of creating jobs for the poor.However, all agreed that the moreappropriate role to be played by localgovernments in the long term would be tocreate an enabling environment for better joboptions for the poor.

• All agreed that if we all work together, wecould improve and perhaps get rid of slums.Actual case studies point to the need to firstestablish community-based organizationsand build their capacity if we are to beeffective in getting rid of slums. Involvementof the community is a must to ensure success,as demonstrated by the cases outlined by Dr.Pongsak Semson, Inspector-General,Bangkok Municipal Authority in Bangkok,and by Mr. Arif Hasan, NGO representative,in his presentation of the Orangi Pilot Projectin Karachi. All speakers emphasized that thekey to success for slum improvement is toadopt a program rather than a projectapproach and to involve the poor in allstages, with the municipal governmentsacting as the focal point for all povertyprograms.

All agreed thatif we all worktogether, wecould improveand perhaps getrid of slums.

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Concluding Remarks

• Mr. Wegelin of the Institute of Housing andUrban Development Studies indicated to usthat if we are to succeed in upgrading slums,the first thing we need to do is integrate slumsettlements in the broader city economy inthe interest of all, not only of the slumcommunities themselves. Next, slumupgrading must be seen as an ongoingprocess of facilitating shelter, employment,and income-generating opportunities.Involving women in the process is importantin view of their power.

• There are various ways by whichenvironmentally friendly houses could beprovided to the poor. The cases presentedpoint to the need to involve the communityand the beneficiaries themselves as partnersto enable socialized housing programs forthe poor to succeed. The message that thespeakers conveyed is that the poor must beincluded because they are the key actors andif you exclude them, you will have a recipefor disaster. Other issues that need to beaddressed are land ownership and securityof land tenure, and capacity building of theurban poor.

• On getting rid of wastes, the message appearsto be that waste is not waste: waste is aresource. Landfill and open dumpsites areno longer acceptable options nowadays.One alternative is regeneration. Acommunity-based waste approach involvinghouseholds in the process is one option thathas been successfully used in Dhaka andelsewhere for solving the waste problem. Dr.Sakurai from the University of Okinawasuggested that mayors are the keystakeholders for solving the problems ofurban wastes. He emphasized that we shouldchange the vicious circle to a positive circle

On getting ridof wastes, themessageappears to bethat waste is notwaste: waste isa resource.

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and outlined the steps for solving theseproblems through conversion of the solidwaste management approach to therecycling waste management approach.

Fighting poverty is not new. The problem isthat there is more rhetoric than action. There hasnot been much success—close to a billion poorcontinue to live in our part of the world. If this Forumenables us to move one more step forward in fightingpoverty, it will be an important step. I want to leaveyou with a story that may enable us to work hardertoward fighting poverty.

One day someone lost his well-paying jobbut shortly was able to find another job that paidmuch less. He felt down and out and he wonderedhow he would be able to survive. He reflected andwondered how others in poor countries with a lotless than he had were able to survive. So he decidedto visit a poor country to find out for himself. Oneday during his visit, he saw a big crowd in the cityand wondered what had happened. There was awoman with four children who were struggling tosurvive on one dollar a day. In her desperation, shecut off the arm of one of her children in the hopethat she will be able to raise the awareness of herplight and that her collection through begging willbe sufficient for their survival. This incident changedthe man completely and he decided to help eventhough he was so much poorer now than before.By the way, this is a true story.

I am sure you must have other similar storiesto tell. In this story, the woman and her four childrenrepresent the poorest of the poor. They need ourhelp. Let us give them our help.

I am very pleased indeed that you have nowcome forward and that every mayor attending thisForum will be preparing a program with a specifictime frame to effect improvements on return to hisor her home country. At the appropriate time, you

If this Forumenables us tomove one morestep forward infighting poverty,it will be animportant step.

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Concluding Remarks

will inform the respective sponsors on what youhave accomplished. We are really looking forwardto you taking the first step to redouble your effortsto help the urban poor. Let us all help contribute toreducing poverty in this part of our world.

I would now like to thank our host, theShanghai Municipal Government, for theirhospitality and for the effort that its staff have madeto enable us to conduct the Forum successfully inShanghai. I would also like to thank the resourcespeakers, the moderators, the chairpersons, and ourcosponsors for their contributions. I would also liketo thank you as participants for your activeparticipation and your contribution. Finally, I wouldalso like to thank Gie Villareal and Michiko Yoshida,who worked behind the scenes, for their immensecontribution and for their patience and dedicationin solving a myriad administrative and logisticalproblems.

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List of Participants

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

A. RESOURCE SPEAKERS

Mr. P.U. AsnaniVice President, City Managers’ Association ofGujarat and Urban Environment InfrastructureRepresentative, IndiaE-mail: [email protected]

Ms. Somsook BoonyabanchaSecretary General, Asian Coalition of HousingRights (ACHR) and Managing Director,Urban Community Development OfficeBangkok, ThailandE-mail: [email protected]

Prof. Karina Constantino-DavidProfessor, University of the Philippinesand Former Secretary, Housing and UrbanDevelopment Coordinating Council, PhilippinesE-mail: [email protected]

Hon. Weng FulinMayor, The Fuzhou Municipal People’sGovernmentFuzhou, PRCE-mail: [email protected]

Dr. Naved HamidSenior Economist, Strategy and PolicyDepartmentAsian Development BankE-mail: [email protected]

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Mr. Arif HasanChairman, Orangi Pilot Project - Research andTraining InstituteKarachi, PakistanE-mail: [email protected]

Dr. Fahmy IsmailSecretary-General, CityNet National Chapter ofMayors, Sri Lanka and Deputy MunicipalCommissioner, Colombo, Sri LankaE-mail: [email protected]

Hon. Omar Z. KamilMayor, Colombo Municipal CouncilColombo, Sri LankaE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Rabial H. MallickAssistant Director, Christian Institute for the Studyof Religion and SocietyCalcutta, IndiaE-mail: [email protected]

Dr. Prasanna K. MohantyCommissioner & Special OfficerMunicipal Corporation of HyderabadHyderabad, IndiaE-mail:[email protected]

Hon. Mary Jane C. OrtegaCity MayorCity of San Fernando (La Union), PhilippinesE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Benjamin R. QuinonesProgramme Coordinator, Asian and PacificDevelopment CentreKuala Lumpur, MalaysiaE-mail: [email protected]

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Dr. Mary RacelisDirector, Institute of Philippine Culture,Ateneo de Manila UniversityManila, PhilippinesE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Andrew O. RegaladoNational Director, Habitat for HumanityPhilippines Foundation, Inc.Manila, PhilippinesE-mail: [email protected];[email protected]

Prof. Kunitoshi SakuraiDepartment of International CommunicationUniversity of Okinawa, Okinawa, JapanE-mail: [email protected]

Khun Pongsak SemsonSpecial Advisor, Bangkok MetropolitanAdministrationBangkok, ThailandFax: (66-2) 225 8276

Mr. Abu Hasnat Md. Maqsood SinhaGeneral Secretary, Waste ConcernDhaka, BangladeshE-mail: [email protected]

Ms. Jayshree A. VyasManaging Director, Shri Mahila Sewa SahakariBank Ltd.Ahmedabad, IndiaFax: (91-79) 657 6074

Dr. Emiel WegelinDirector, Institute For Housing and UrbanDevelopment StudiesRotterdam, The NetherlandsE-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

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B. LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

Bangladesh

Hon. Sheikh Tayebur RahmanMayor of Khulna, Khulna City CorporationKhulnaE-mail: [email protected]

Bhutan

Hon. Phuntsho WangdiMayor, Royal Government of BhutanThimphuE-mail: [email protected]

Cambodia

H.E. Than SinaFirst Vice Governor, Municipality of Phnom PenhPhnom PenhE-mail: [email protected]

China, People’s Republic of

Hon. Chen DemingMayor of Suzhou, Suzhou Municipal GovernmentE-mail: [email protected];[email protected]

Mr. Chen LiangyuExecutive Vice Mayor, Shanghai MunicipalGovernmentFax: (8621) 2552761

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Mr. Li ChenSection Chief, External Finance & EconomyDivisionShanghai Municipal Finance & Taxation BureauE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Li HongDeputy Director- GeneralForeign Affairs Office, Fuzhou Municipal People’sGovernmentE-mail: [email protected];[email protected]

Mr. Shen BonianVice Mayor, Guangzhou Municipal People’sGovernmentFax: (86-20) 8334 0347

Mr. Wang QinVice Director General, Fuzhou PlanningCommissionE-mail: [email protected]

Hon. Xiu LiuMayor of Huhhot, The People’s Government ofHuhhotFax: (86-471) 696 3538

Hon. Xu KuangdiMayor, Shanghai Municipal GovermentFax: (8621) 2552761

Mr. Zhai Hong XiangDeputy Mayor, Beijing Municipal GovernmentFax: (86-10) 6519 3662

Mr. Zhang Dai ZhongStanding Vice Mayor, Wuhan People’sGovernmentE-mail: [email protected]

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The Republic of Fiji Islands

Hon. Mataiasi V. RagigiaLord Mayor of SuvaSuva CityE-mail: [email protected]

India

Hon. Shanti DesaiMayor, Municipal Corporation of DelhiFax: (91-11) 397 1774

Dr. S. P. AggarwalMunicipal Commissioner,Municipal Corporation of DelhiE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. K. JairajCommissioner, Bangalore City CorporationFax: (91-80) 222 3194

Hon. Umakant JoshiMayor of Vadodara and Chairman,All India Council of MayorsE-mail: vmc [email protected]

Hon. NarayanaMayor, Mysore City CorporationFax: (91-821) 529 033

Hon. Anuradha PanchumarthyMayor, Vijaywada Municipal Corporation

Hon. Takkalapalli Rajeshwar RaoMayor, Warangal Municipal Corporation

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Mr. Marimadaiah ShivannaChairman, Standing Committee for TaxationFinance & AppealMysore City CorporationFax: (91-821) 529 033

Hon. V. SivankuttyMayor, City Corporation of ThiruvananthapuramE-mail: [email protected]

Hon. Souterpet SundariMayor, Mangalore City CorporationFax: (91-824) 456 557

Hon. Nirmala VermaMayor, Jaipur Municipal CorporationFax: (91-141) 234 274

Indonesia

Hon. H. B. Amiruddin MaulaMayor, Makassar

Mr. Bambang Dwi HartonoVice Mayor, Surabaya MunicipalityFax: (62-31) 534 5689

Mrs. Tri RismahariniHead of Spatial Plan and Land Use SectionPlanning and Development Board,Surabaya MunicipalityFax: (62-31) 546 1077

Mr. Pohan MaulanaVice Mayor, Medan City Local GovernmentE-mail: [email protected]

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Mr. Bambang SungkonoChief, Regional Development Planning BoardJakarta Capital City AdministrationFax: (62-21) 386 0521

Mr. Slamet RiyadiHead of Urban DivisionSemarang City GovernmentFax: (62-24) 542 522

Mr. Dada RosadaCity Secretary, City Government of BandungFax: (62-22) 421 8682/423 7331

Mr. Muhammad AnwarRelation Section, Education and TrainingProvincial Government of West JavaBandungFax: (62-22) 423 7331

Mr. Gugum GumbiraCity Government of BandungFax: (62-22) 421 8682; 423 7331

Mr. Aris SudradjatHead of Local Revenue OfficeCity Government of BandungFax: (62-22) 421 8682

Lao PDR

Hon. Bounneung DouangphachanhMayor of VientianeVientiane Urban Development andManagement CommitteeE-mail: [email protected]

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Mr. Saisana PrathoumvanProject Manager, PIMUVientiane Urban Development andManagement CommitteeE-mail: [email protected]

Malaysia

Hon. Dato’ Talaat Bin HusainMayor, Ipoh City CouncilE-mail: [email protected]

Hon. Dato’ Mohamad Bin SaibPresident, Kuantan Municipal CouncilE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Mohd. Nor bin AmranAssistant Planning OfficerKuantan Municipal CouncilE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Mohd. Shabarudin bin Abdul HamidAssistant EngineerKuantan Municipal CouncilE-mail: [email protected]

Mongolia

Dr. T.S. ErdeneboldDirector, International Cooperation DepartmentUlaanbaatar City GovernmentE-mail: [email protected]

Nepal

Hon. Buddhi Raj BajracharyaMayor, Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan CityFax: (977-1) 521 495

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Pakistan

Mr. Muhammad ArbabAdministrator, Local Government,Elections & Rural Development DepartmentPeshawar Municipal CorporationE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Yasub Ali DogarAdministrator, Metropolitan Corporation LahoreE-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

Mr. Abdul HaqueAdministrator, Karachi Metropolitan CorporationE-mail: [email protected]

Philippines

Ms. Cynthia G. CajudoVice Mayor, Olongapo CityE-mail: olongapo@hvisions_com

Hon. Bayani F. FernandoMayor, Marikina CityE-mail: [email protected]

Hon. Felipe Antonio RemolloMayor, Dumaguete CityE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Woodrow S. MaquilingVice Mayor, Dumaguete CityFax: (63-35) 225 0636

Hon. Sulpicio S. Roco, Jr.Mayor, Naga CityE-mail: [email protected]

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Hon. Gelacio R. ManalangMayor, Tarlac CityE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Jose Antonino I. PalomarExecutive Assistant to Mayor ManalangTarlac CityE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Erlito DuduacoCity Information ConsultantTarlac CityE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Miguel A. TañedoCity Councilor and Chairman, Committee onUrban PoorTarlac CityE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Jose M. EvangelistaSan Fernando CityE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Remson G. LubianoSan Fernando CityE-mail: [email protected]

Sri Lanka

Hon. A.T.K ChandradasaMayor, Moratuwa Municipal CouncilE-mail: [email protected]

Hon. G.H.N. Chandrasiri De SilvaMayor, Kurunegala Municipal CouncilE-mail: [email protected]

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Hon. Rohana DissanayakeMayor, Matale Municipal CouncilFax: (94-66) 23 093

Hon. T.B. Harindranath DunuwilleMayor, Kandy Municipal CouncilE-mail: [email protected]

Hon. M.D.A. HemachandraMayor, Badulla Municipal CouncilFax: (94-55) 22114

Hon. Ananda MunasingheMayor, Negombo Municipal CouncilE-mail: [email protected]

Hon. M. Jayaratne PereraMayor, Dehiwala Mount Lavinia MunicipalCouncilE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. M.Z.M. MansoorMember of Municipal Council and ProjectDevelopment CommitteeDehiwala Mount Lavinia Municipal CouncilE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. H.N.P. WanigasuriyaDehiwala Mount Lavinia Municipal CouncilE-mail: [email protected]

Hon. A.W.D.B. SeneviratneMayor, Nuwara Eliya Municipal CouncilFax: (94-52) 22276

Hon. S. Chandra SilvaMayor, Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte MunicipalCouncilFax: (94-1) 862 941

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Thailand

Hon. Phummisak HongsyokMayor, Phuket MunicipalityE-mail: [email protected]

Hon. Suraphong PutanapibulMayor, Rayong MunicipalityFax: (66-38) 870 091

Mr. Yinyon Seniwong Na AyudhyaInternational Affairs OfficerBangkok Metropolitan AdministrationFax: (66-2) 224 4686

Viet Nam

Ms. Pham Phuong ThaoVice ChairwomanPeople’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh CityFax: (84-8) 829 6988

Ms. Tran Thi Hieu HanhProtocol OfficerForeign Affair Office, Ho Chi Minh CityFax: (84-8) 825 1436

C. NGO REPRESENTATIVES

Dr. Vivek S. AgrawalTrustee Secretary, Centre For DevelopmentCommunicationJaipur, IndiaE-mail: [email protected]

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Mr. H.M.U. ChularathnaExecutive DirectorSevanatha Urban Resource CenterColombo, Sri LankaE-mail: [email protected]

Ma. Lourdes FernandoChairman, Marikina Tourism CouncilMarikina City Hall, PhilippinesE-mail: [email protected]

Ms. Lajana ManandharProgram Coordinator, LUMANTI Support Groupfor ShelterLalitpur, NepalE-mail: [email protected]

Mrs. Ma. Teresa RegaladoVolunteer, Habitat for Humanity PhilippinesFoundation, Inc.Manila, PhilippinesFax: (63-2) 536 8413

D. REPRESENTATIVES OF

DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES

Ms. Stacy E. BonnaffonsCommercial Environmental Specialist,United States Asia Environmental Partnership(US-AEP)Makati City, PhilippinesE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Nathaniel von EinsiedelRegional Coordinator, Urban ManagementProgramme (UNDP/UNCHS)Klong Luang, Pathumthan, ThailandE-mail: [email protected]

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Dr. Dinesh B. MehtaGlobal CoordinatorUrban Management Programme (UNCHS)Nairobi, KenyaE-mail: [email protected]

Ms. Shipra NarangNetwork Coordinator, South Asia UrbanManagement Programme Regional Office For AsiaNew Delhi, IndiaE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Prafulla PradhanProgramme ManagerUrban Governance Initiative (UNDP)Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Toshihiro TanakaAssistant Resident RepresentativeUnited Nations Development ProgrammeBeijing, PRCE-mail: [email protected]

E. ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

INSTITUTE

Dr. Masaru YoshitomiDeanE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. S.B. ChuaDirector, Capacity BuildingE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. M.G. QuibriaSenior Advisor to the DeanE-mail: [email protected]

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F. ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

Mr. Myoung-Ho ShinVice President, Region WestE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Asad Ali ShahManager, Water Supply, Urban Developmentand Housing Division (East)E-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Munawar AlamProject Implementation OfficerIndia Resident MissionE-mail: [email protected]

G. SECRETARIAT

Ms. Ma. Mildred R. VillarealConsultantAsian Development BankE-mail: [email protected]

Ms. Michiko YoshidaProgram AssistantAsian Development Bank InstituteE-mail: [email protected]

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Abbreviations

ABBREVIATIONS

ADB Asian Development Bank

ADBI Asian Development Bank Institute

CBO community-based organization

DMCs developing member countries

HRG Housing and Resettlement Group

LGUs local government units

MFIs microfinance institutions

NGO nongovernment organization

OPP Orangi Pilot Project

SEWA Self-employed Women’sAssociation

UMP Urban Management Programme

UNCHS United Nations Centre for HumanSettlements

UNDP United Nations DevelopmentProgramme

UNEP United Nations EnvironmentProgramme

USAID United States Agency forInternational Development

Documents

ASIAN CITIES IN THE 21ST CENTURY - Asian Development Bank · second, the proceedings of which were published as Volume IV in the Asian Cities in the 21st Century series, was held